Parallel Surreality to Parallel Continuity
by SanadaSayuri
Summary: ParaSur: The Kazama Clan fell, and kakashi grieves for a love that never had a chance to blossom. A letter from Naruto sends him to the past ParaCont: kakashi has changed the future and those who were left behind must fufill the Oracle's will... On Hiatus
1. Prologue

CSA Version 8ParallelEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Surreality

**Summary:** The Kazama Clan has fallen, and Kakashi is grieving for a love that was confessed far too late. When he finds a letter written to him by Naruto, he gets knocked out, and woke up as… something unexpected…

Prologue

Konohagakure no Sato in the heart of Fire Country was in mourning. The last of the Kazama Clan was gone, and there would never again be a blue eyed Oracle wandering the village, and guiding the Hidden Leaf through rough times. The Kazama Clan had finally fallen, and those who had lived through the previous Oracles suddenly felt defenseless, as though a long standing defense had suddenly vanished.

In many ways, it was the truth. Konoha had always had an Oracle to guide the village from the very moment of its founding. The Oracle Sorasmaru had met the Shodai Hokage through her distant kin, Uchiha Madara, and had guided him to build his village in its current position. Soramaru had become so besotted with the infant village, that she had settled in Konoha permanently, and started a family. Ever since then, Soramaru's children had lived and protected the village. By the power of the Oracle, Konoha had become one of the greatest Ninja Villages to ever exist, and now that the line of Oracles had broken…

Would the village fall without an Oracle? Konoha was entering its most difficult times. They were now to live without an Oracle. The Oracle, who had guided them, protected them…

Throughout the village, only one man did not grieve. Rather, he laughed and toasted Kazama Uzumaki Naruto Kazuki's name and gathered his forces to him. He never thought that the Oracle might have spoken of him in his last moments, and for Danzou, that would be his fall…

* * *

At the training ground seven, Zabuza and Haku stood before the Hero's Monument, and stared at the cenotaph. Ibiki and Anko arrived, both carrying a batch of lilies and they set the flowers at the monument. The two special jounin bowed their heads and rose to their feet. They nodded to Zabuza and Haku in acknowledgement and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Kakashi stood inside the house that Naruto and his friends had resided in for so long. All around, he could see the signs of daily life in the Oracle Manor. In that sink were the remnants of dirty dishes, and pots and pans still soaking and waiting to be washed. On that table was that delicate flower-like cup from which Naruto and his housemates tended to drink their tea. On the kitchen counter was a pile of vegetables, set to the side for preparation of the next meal, and in a large bowl next to the vegetables was a hunk of frozen meat, still thawing.

In the living room, was that single glass table surrounded by the couches and sofa, and there were signs of preparations for war. There were those shuriken, which had been left out because they were dull, the kunai that had not been taken because the wrappings on the handle was loose, and the blade was chipped. There was that extra roll of nin-wire that had been left behind, and the small sack of soldier pills, and slung over that chair was a jacket, and in that corner was a set of weights.

Kakashi wandered through the house, until he reached a room which had housed the one person he had ever loved most.

Naruto…

The young Oracle rarely wore bright colors unless he was inside the village, even then, it was usually as a jacket that could be quickly thrown off and turned inside out so the dark lining would be more appropriate for a ninja's line of work. Kakashi opened the door slowly and stepped inside.

The emblem of Konoha and the Oracle seemed to be the theme in that room, and there, hanging on a hook was Naruto's formal robes. Over there was that little sleeping cap that he had outgrown and stopped wearing when he turned ten. On that bedside table was a picture of Naruto and the four teens Anko and Ibiki tended to call the Pilots, and that picture was surrounded by that team photo that had been taken not long after Team Seven had been officially passed, and there were pictures of Naruto at a party with the ANBU who watched him surrounding him. There was even a picture of the boy with his arms around Iruka's shoulders as the two laughed toward the camera.

Kakashi picked up the sleeping cap and pressed his face against it, and breathed in. He could smell Naruto on it, the scent of ramen and sunshine, with warm green tea, and the cold metallic scent of the kunai and shuriken that was a part of every ninja's arsenal, and the faintest traces of blood and tears, all of which made up Naruto's unique scent.

Tears sprang once more to his eyes, and Kakashi sat down heavily on Nauto's bed, clutching the hat to his chest. The pillow shifted, and there was a crinkling of paper.

Curious, his tugged the paper out from beneath the pillow. His name had been written on it, underneath it was a seal that resembled a chakra seal, so Kakashi channeled his chakra into the seal. If he had been less desperate to find a way to ignore the fact that Naruto was dead, he'd have knwn better. As it was, the seal glowed then all Kakashi knew was darkness…

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** I really seem to be getting into writing the time travel stories. This is the third one! The only difference is, instead of being Naruto or one of the Konoha 11, this is from Kakashi's perspective! Well, Kakashi will be tough to write, but what's life without a little challenge?

_SanadaSayuri_


	2. Chapter 1 Safeguard

CSA Version 8ParallelEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Surreality

**Summary:** The Kazama Clan has fallen, and Kakashi is grieving for a love that was confessed far too late. When he finds a letter written to him by Naruto, he gets knocked out, and woke up as… something unexpected…

**SS's Notes:** The chapters will start out short, but they'll get longer, I promise!

Chapter 1: Safeguard

Kakashi opened his eyes and froze. Then he sat up and looked around. There were the tatami floors, the dark green futon, over there was the… What in seven hells was going on?

There was something in his hand, and Kakashi glanced down and his eyes widened as the seal he had activated faded before his eyes and Naruto's scrawling script materialized on the paper.

"_Kakashi… Those who have even a drop of Kazama blood are always constrained by fate. Those who do not are not so much so. I have done my best, this seal was a safeguard if I were to die before my work is complete. Now you are my Mouth. Carry this with you at all times and good luck. You will be the Ark that will carry Konoha into a brighter future. Go first and seek out the Oracle Chizuru and show her this note. She will finalize your position as the Mouth to her successor, the Oracle Kazama Kazuki. This requires utmost secrecy, and only Chizuru will know of your origins from the future. She will guide you as best as she can. By now, you are aware of where and when you are. From this point on, the rest is up to you. Sincerely, Kazama Kazuki, Oracle."_

Kakashi stared at the scrap of paper in horror. He had been sent back in time…

There was a sharp rap at the door.

"Kakashi-kun?"

Kakashi glanced up at the sound of a familiar voice and nearly flinched at the masked face of his father.

"Hurry up and get dressed Kakashi-kun. You're meeting your team today, remember?"

"Ha-hai, Otousan…"

Sakumo nodded, and the door closed once more.

Kakashi dropped the paper and buried his face in his hands. Naruto was dead, he'd been sent back in time and given the responsibility of bringing Konoha to its best possible future as the Mouth of an Oracle who hadn't even been _born_ yet, and worst of all?

Worst of all was that he was five, and everyone he had lost were still _alive_. How could he face them without breaking down?

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** I really seem to be getting into writing the time travel stories. This is the third one! The only difference is, instead of being Naruto or one of the Konoha 11, this is from Kakashi's perspective! Well, Kakashi will be tough to write, but what's life without a little challenge?

_SanadaSayuri_


	3. Chapter 2 Beginning

CSA Version 9Parallel SurrealityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Surreality

**Summary:** The Kazama Clan has fallen, and Kakashi is grieving for a love that was confessed far too late. When he finds a letter written to him by Naruto, he gets knocked out, and woke up as… something unexpected…

**SS's Notes:** The chapters will start out short, but they'll get longer, I promise! In any case, I **know** that the Yondaime's name is Namikaze Minato, but since the entirety of the story has been laid out early on, and I'm too lazy to change everything, we'll just keep it Kazama Arashi for the sake of simplicity, kay?

Chapter 2: Beginning

Kazama Arashi had just entered the village proper when the chunnin at the gate told him that the Hokage wanted to speak with him. He sighed and formed a ram seal and shunshined into the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi sat there, his eyes dark with sorrow and exhaustion like always. The Sandaime looked up and frowned at the sight of the jounin in front of him.

"You could have always cleaned up before you came up, Arashi-kun," he said lightly.

"It's not wise to keep the Hokage waiting, and why do I get the feeling that I'm late for something?"

Sarutobi grinned. "Most likely because you are."

"What?!"

"Arashi-kun, I know I'm dropping his burden on you on extremely short notice, but we are currently short on ninja, especially those who are qualified to become jounin sensei…"

"Let me guess, they're waiting at the academy?"

"Yes," Sarutobi nodded. "You have Team seven consisting of Natsume Rin, Uchiha Obito, and Hatake Kakashi. They should be in…"

"Room C-13 on the second floor," Arashi interrupted the Sandaime, "I know." The blonde jounin vanished out the window without another word.

Sandaime sighed…

* * *

The first thing Arashi was aware of when he approached the classroom was the power of an Oracle. Arashi's eyes narrowed. He had just returned from a very difficult mission, he was tired, hungry, and in pain, and the last thing he wanted was to deal with this person or object that had a heavy taint of a Kazama's power. In fact, there shouldn't even be an object to carry an Oracle's taint, because the only Yochigan user he knew of was himself and his sister, and this Oracle's signature was unknown to him, for all that it was filled with sorrow and pulled at some unknown part of his heart insistently, as if trying to say that he _should_ know this signature.

Arashi shook his head and lifted his hand to open the door, but just before his hand touched the plastic, the door slid open. Arashi stared into the saddest pair of dark eyes he had ever seen in shock. He recognized the face and the dark eyes, of course, this was the prodigal son of Hatake Sakumo, with whom Arashi had worked with once or twice. The boy held up a sheet of paper that simply reeked of an Oracle's touch.

"I was told to give this to the Oracle," he said, "But since you're Chizuru-sama's brother, you would do just as well, I suppose."

Arashi's eyes widened. It all made a lot of sense didn't it? The power of an Oracle in a time when an Oracle was already established, never mind that there was a second Yochigan wielder, and a male to boot, in existence at the same time, meant only one thing. Some catastrophe had befallen Konoha somewhere along the lines during the Hatake boy's lifetime, and She had chosen the child, well, the full grown man to return through time to bear the warning. Since two people could not exist in the same place at the same time, the memories and experiences of the older Hatake Kakashi had been sent back to the younger… But such a thing had never been attempted before! What had happened to the younger soul? Had it been destroyed to make room for the older one?

The blonde shook away the disturbing thoughts and took a deep breath and said quietly, "If you were sent to give a message to the Oracle, then you should give it to the Oracle directly, not hand it to a member of the family to pass on, Hatake-kun."

There! Arashi was faintly glad that his voice did not shake as much as he thought it would.

Kakashi nodded. Arashi watched in fascination as the boy withdrew the paper and tucked it into a breast pocket, his hands moving with a reverence and gentleness that the blonde noted. He realized what it was that had prompted the arrival of the Hatake in the current timeframe. It made sense that the Oracle would send someone that She trusted would do anything for Her, and who better to send, than someone who was head over heels in love with Her?

_Crafty,_ Arashi thought. _But to put someone so broken hearted and confused into this position… What was She thinking, that successor of Chizuru's and mine?_

He made up his mind to push an imprint of himself through the collective to speak with the Oracle in question later in the night, after the Hatake boy had delivered the missive to Chizuru.

Arashi swayed on his feet, suddenly lightheaded.

"Sensei?!"

Arashi was slightly bemused to find the five year old tugging his arm and pushing him toward the chairs.

"I'd forgotten," Kakashi murmured, "That you went straight to the Sandaime, and right down here once you found out. Rin is training to be a medic, she can slow the bleeding if nothing else."

And Arashi watched in bewilderment as this genin who was not a genin took charge of his well being, treating him as though he were Hokage.

* * *

Once Arashi was patched up, and had consumed a ration bar from his equipment pouch, he sent the genin to the roof for introductions and a debriefing of the final test to determine their worth as genin. For a moment, Arashi considered giving Kakashi a different test, then shrugged and decided that it wasn't worth all that worry. Kakashi was a prodigy; even Sakumo admitted it, so the man-turned-boy would do his best to recreate the test as he had initially taken it, right? Arashi was completely out of his element. He would have liked nothing more than to activate his Yochigan and walk the mists of time to seek guidance, but now was not the time. He had some genin to test.

* * *

Kakashi was only vaguely aware of his former teacher—no, potential teacher, right now—giving out instructions as to the test they were about to take. It took all of his vast self control not to break down right then and there. He jumped in surprise when a large hand fell on his shoulder, and looked up to see the cool cerulean eyes of his teacher.

"Are you alright?" Arashi said gently.

Kakashi blinked and looked around, and realized belatedly that Rin and Obito had already left. He shrugged helplessly.

"Come," Arashi said quietly, "Chizuru should be home right about now. You can give her the message from your Oracle."

Kakashi nodded numbly and stood up.

Arashi eyed the boy critically, then picked him up. Kakashi stiffened and gave in to his impulse, and twisted to wrap his arms around the blonde's neck.

"I missed you sensei," his voice shook with suppressed emotion.

Arashi's arms tightened around the child momentarily. He had known that this boy would be one of his students, but what had happened to break such a strong spirit so badly? What had happened that would disrupt Fate's Tapestry to such a point that an Oracle would be desperate enough to send back someone so mentally fragile? At the moment, only Chizuru, who's Yochigan was more developed, could answer those questions.

"Hold tight, Kakashi-kun," Arashi said lightly, and vanished in a swirl of leaves, taking the heartbroken boy with him.

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not: **The one thing I hate most about my muses is how they can crack you over the head with an idea, and leave you hanging where other, more established stories are concerned. And then the muses will have you cranking out one chapter after the other in quick succession, and then a little while after, the chapters don't come as quickly, and the readers get irritated. Life's funny that way, isn't it?

_SanadaSayuri_

Nightwing TalesWill nothing ever be the same?


	4. Chapter 3 Oracle

CSA Version 9Parallel SurrealityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Surreality

**Summary:** The Kazama Clan has fallen, and Kakashi is grieving for a love that was confessed far too late. When he finds a letter written to him by Naruto, he gets knocked out, and woke up as… something unexpected…

**SS's Notes:** The chapters will start out short, but they'll get longer, I promise!

Chapter 3: Oracle

Chizuru was relaxing in her room with a cup of hot green tea and a book when she sensed it.

"Tadaima!"

Chizuru set down her up and leapt to her feet and dashed down the hall. Her steps slowed as she approached the foyer and sensed the power of an oracle. She frowned and turned round the corner.

"Okaeri," she said, and her eyes tracked toward the silver haired child that Arashi was setting on the ground. "Arashi, isn't that…"

"Ah," Arashi said, he stood up, his eyes troubled. "This is Sakumo's kid. But Chizuru, he's also…"

Chizuru held up a hand in the universal "Shut up" motion. "I can sense it," she said shortly. She turned to Kakashi, smiling gently and said quietly, "Well, Kakashi-kun? Do you have a message for me from your Oracle?"

Kakashi stared at the woman and slowly withdrew the slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over. Chizuru studied the boy as she took the paper and unfolded it to reveal an intricate seal. Her Yochigan activated and she allowed a single drop of blood to fall from her eyes onto the center of the seal. There was a quiet sizzle and a puff of smoke as the paper vanished. Chizuru stood there, her Yochigan glazed over.

"Ano… Chizuru-sama?" Kakashi said quietly.

"Come along," Arashi said quietly, "Leave her for a while. That seal had your Oracle's message imbedded in it, so Chizuru will be there for a while, depending on how long it is."

"Oh.." Kakashi looked downcast.

"Why don't I get you something to drink?"

"That's not necessary.."

Arashi frowned, but said nothing. "Well, come sit down, and I hope you brought something to do, because I don't think Chizuru will be coming out of the Collective anytime soon."

Kakashi looked up in confusion. "Collective?"

Arashi's frown deepened. "Didn't your Oracle teach you anything about being her Mouth?"

"To my knowledge, Naruto died before he finalized anything," Kakashi said quietly.

"He?"

"Your son, sensei."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't yell in the house," Chizuru snapped as she entered the living room. "As for you, Kakashi, you're a prodigy, and at 26 years of age, you should have known better than to activate a seal left behind by the Oracle without making sure who it was for. The person who was supposed to be sent back wasn't you."

"What?" Arashi asked, "You're saying that…"

"The actual Mouth is not here," Chizuru nodded. "In fact, Naruto-kun had intended for Ibiki-kun or Anko-chan to be his Mouth since they knew most of what he had planned. In fact, by coming here instead of Anko-chan or Ibiki-kun, Kakashi-kun has completely thrown Naruto-kun's plans out the window."

She glanced at the boy and flinched at the disheartened look on his face.

"It's quite alright," she said gently, "All Oracles imbed a shadow of themselves into the Collective just before a major working, so if something goes awry, the next Oracle can fix what went wrong, or in Naruto-kun's case, since he was the last Oracle, a Mouth could go back in time and have the previous Oracle tap the collective so he or she can carry on their Lady or Lord's work. Even if you're not the Mouth that was intended to come back, as Oracles, Arashi and I can still guide you to finish Naruto-kun's project."

"Wait, sensei?" Kakashi twisted to stare at the man who smiled sheepishly.

"Well, yes," he said, before his face became serious. "The simple fact that there were two Yochigan users, and one a male no less, would have sent the village into a panic. Anyone who looks at the records would se that Soramaru once predicted that the line of Oracles would end when two Oracles exist at the same time. As such, I keep my eyes secret, and Chizuru takes the spotlight."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry, Kakashi-kun," Arashi said gently, "It'll all come out alright in the end."

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** Oh dear, it seems like Kakashi messed up big time now… XD

_SanadaSayuri_

Nightwing TalesWill nothing ever be the same?


	5. Chapter 4 Debate

CSA Version 9Parallel SurrealityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Surreality

**Summary:** The Kazama Clan has fallen, and Kakashi is grieving for a love that was confessed far too late. When he finds a letter written to him by Naruto, he gets knocked out, and woke up as… something unexpected…

**SS's Notes:** The chapters will start out short, but they'll get longer, I promise!

Chapter 4: Debate

"The paper had my name on it," Kakashi whispered as he stared into the cup of tea.

"Naruto accepts that as his own fault," Chizuru said. "He didn't expect you to be the first one to find the seal, and so he left a second seal on it that would take in the chakra of the person within three meters and materialize the name that came with the chakra."

"How is that possible?"

"It is a skill that only an Oracle possesses," Arashi replied. "It certainly wasn't your fault. You didn't intend to cause any harm. So long as there is an Oracle in Konoha, Naruto's plan can still be set into motion."

* * *

Chizuru leaned back in her chair and studied the two carefully. It was almost as if she were watching a father son pair, which should be either impossible or improbable. Sakumo was Kakashi's father, and he was still alive and well. Perhaps she should warn Sakumo to be a bit more careful in his next mission. It would be a disaster if Kakashi went mad from grief and pain. The Kazama Clan had rules set by Kami to restrict them. Someone like Kakashi would not be bound by the same rules as a member of the Kazama Clan, and the loss of Kakashi would mean that whatever harsh future was to come would likely become even worse. It would also be a shame for all of Naruto-kun's hard work to go to waste….

* * *

Kakashi stared into the tea pensively. Not only had he ruined Naruto's plans for the continued future of Konoha, he was sitting in a room with two people who had died in his own past. After the two Kazama siblings had died, he had wished that they were still alive. Well, they were alive now, but it was nothing like what he had imagined as a child… Neither of them knew him as anything but the prodigal son of Hatake Sakumo, and all that warmth had dissipated behind these businesslike countenances. The bond that he had had with the two early on no longer existed, and Kakashi highly doubted that they would ever be as close as they had been in his memory…

* * *

Arasahi glanced at the boy sitting beside him and turned to look at his sister. Chizuru's pale eyes locked with his, and she nodded slightly.

Arashi sighed and turned to Kakashi and said, "Kakashi-kun?"

Kakashi twitched and look up.

Arashi smiled, "It's getting late. Your father will get worried, and don't you have to be tested tomorrow? I'll walk you home, okay?"

Kakashi nodded slowly and set the teacup on the table and stood up.

Chizuru set down her cup and stood up and walked with Arashi and Kakashi to the door.

"Kakashi-kun," she said, "Tomorrow, irregardless of whether your team passes or fails, you will still be Naruto-kun's Mouth. As such, you'll need to be taught the proper procedures for such things. Therefore, after the test, you will go to Training Ground 12. Ibiki-kun and I will be waiting for you there. Also, remember that no matter what happens, Arashi is also an Oracle, though a lesser one, so you can always go to him, alright?"

Kakashi bowed. "Thank you."

Arashi laid a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled at his sister. "Don't worry too much. I'll take care of him."

* * *

Kakashi was distinctly aware of Arashi as he walked beside him, the contained power that radiated off the man licked at his senses.

"Ano… Sensei?"

Arashi looked down at the child. "Yes?"

Kakashi looked down and kicked his sandals in the dirt. "Since I already know the bell test, are you going to change it?"

Arashi blinked. "Now why would I do that?"

"Well, I thought that since I already know about it and how the others are going to react…"

Arashi chuckled, "I see… You wanted to know if I'd make things harder." His face became solemn. "No, I'm not changing the test. You'll have to earn your position again, yes, but your test will not be the bell test. Your job is to get Obito and Rin to understand the meaning behind the bell test while Obito and Rin are to learn the meaning themselves, get it?"

Kakashi scrunched up his face. "That's confusing, sensei."

Arashi chuckled, looking unrepentant. "Sorry, sorry. In any case, that's your job. Since you passed the bell test the first time, I don't doubt that you have what it takes to be my student, but you also have your Oracle's will to worry about, so don't dwell on it too much, ok?"

Kakashi looked away. "Ok…"

Arashi's smile fell away as he studied the boy and he quickly looked away. The burden on Kakashi was heavy, and once Team Seven passed, Arashi would do everything in his power to lighten the boy's burden.

* * *

After what seemed like an extremely brief time on the road, they arrived in front of the Hatake Residence.

"Saa," Arashi said lightly as he ruffled the boy's hair, "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

Kakashi nodded. "See you tomorrow, sensei."

Arashi nodded and watched as the boy walked up the drive and into the house. The blonde stood there for a moment longer before turning away and leaving.

* * *

Sakumo had not missed the sight of his son walking down the street with the blonde haired jounin. He remembered the Oracle well, had worked with her on several occasions, and her brother, he knew from experience, was an extremely accomplished and skilled ninja.

"Tadaima."

Sakumo could barely hear his son's voice from the door. He stood up and walked to the door of his study and stuck his head out.

"Okaeri," Sakumo said gravely.

Kakashi flinched and dropped his eyes to the ground. Sakumo's eyes narrowed.

"Kakashi?"

"Hai?"

"You're acting oddly. Are you alright?"

"Hai. I'm fine… Otou-san…"

Sakumo gave Kakashi a disbelieving look. He knew he wasn't the best of fathers, but he knew his son well enough to know when Kakashi was lying.

"Did something happen during the team selection?"

"No… Nothing happened…" Kakashi trailed off, then added as an afterthought, "Nothing of significance…"

Kakashi refused to meet his eyes. Sakumo studied the boy, and noted slight nuances that not been there before, and the grief that was hidden in the dark eyes. Prodigy or no, the boy stood with the assurance of a ninja who had killed before, and had the look of one who had seen and done things that were unspeakable. To put it bluntly, Sakumo thought that someone had replaced his precious son to get to him.

Kazama Arashi was a skilled ninja, but not even he would suspect a child unless he had been with him for a long time, but the Kazama should have had some insight that would have warned him of an imposter. Most Kazama males could tell if someone had been replaced, even if they had never laid eyes on them before that moment.

Sakumo resolved to speak with Kazama Chizuru before taking any action.

TBC …

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** hmm… Do I sense trouble brewing on the horizon?

_SanadaSayuri_

Nightwing TalesWill nothing ever be the same?


	6. Chapter 5 Oath

CSA Version 9Parallel SurrealityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Surreality

**Summary:** The Kazama Clan has fallen, and Kakashi is grieving for a love that was confessed far too late. When he finds a letter written to him by Naruto, he gets knocked out, and woke up as… something unexpected…

**SS's Notes:** The chapters are getting longer, and will be longer yet! And do I sense some unhappiness with Naruto? Well, he was pretty obsessed with protecting Konoha, and it causes tunnel vision, so he didn't account for human unpredictability. His little blunder just goes to show you that no one is infallible, not even the Oracle, doesn't it? Also, poor Kakashi, Naruto's tunnel vision certainly has dumped him in a very unenviable situation, hasn't it?

Chapter 5: Oath

Sakumo stood at the widow and watched as Kazama Arashi walked up the drive, and Kakashi darted out the door to meet him. Arashi nodded toward the boy, turned, and the two left together. Sakumo couldn't help but wonder why Arashi would go through the trouble of coming to collect the boy when the child could take care of himself. Sakumo shook his head tiredly, and collected his things and left the house, heading in the direction of the Kazama Clan house. Depending on how long this talk took, he would have to rush to meet with his squad for their mission later on.

* * *

Chizuru woke in the morning feeling as if she was going to have a very long day. With that in mind, she stepped out of the house, snagged a genin at random, gave him a hundred ryo note and a slip of paper to prove his brief service to the Oracle so he would not be scolded by his teammates and jounin supervisor, then sent him to fetch Ibiki. She returned inside the house and prepared some tea and took from the cabinet seven cups. She was going to have a lot of visitors today, and their topic would revolve around a little boy who had been sent from the future to save the village…

* * *

Arashi smiled lightly as he held up two bells. "This is your test. You have till noon to get these bells from me. Fail and you will all get sent back to the Academy." He tied the bells to his belt. "Come at me with the intent to kill. Begin!"

The three children vanished, and Arashi's eyes flared slightly and—

_--The cave was collapsing._

"_Kakashi!" Obito darted forward. "Look out!"_

_Kakashi grabbed the Uchiha's arm as he stepped aside and flung him to the side…--_

"No!" Arashi was on his hands and knees, his eyes wide as he gasped for breath.

"Sensei?"

Arashi turned his head to see Kakashi kneeling beside him, his dark eyes dim with worry. Arashi smiled weakly as he clambered to his feet, somewhat lacking in the natural grace normally attributed to an experienced ninja.

"I'm fine. The vision caught me by surprise, that's all." Arashi smiled at the boy and slipped into a loose defensive stance. "But since you're out here, Kakashi-kun, we'll begin with the first lesson in the ninja arts: Taijutsu."

Kakashi blinked. Wasn't Obito supposed to…

Oh, wait, he'd leapt out of hiding when he'd seen Arashi collapse.

Oops.

* * *

Sakumo was surprised to see Morino Ibiki, who was well known as the Oracle's Mouth, enter the Kazama Clan House. Obviously, Kazama Chizuru knew he was coming, but why was Ibiki there? Sakumo shrugged and kept moving. The sooner the talk was over with, the sooner he could meet up with his squad for their mission.

* * *

Chizuru smiled as Sakumo entered the living room. "Welcome, Hatake-san."

"Oracle."

"You've come to speak to me about your son, I believe?"

"Yes." Sakumo glanced at Ibiki and said drily, "Is it necessary for your Mouth to be here also?"

"Yes," Chizuru's face became solemn. "A terrible thing has happened, Hatake-san, and it involves your son."

Sakumo's shoulders stiffened. Chizuru poured a cup of tea, and set it down in front of a seat across from her.

"Do take a seat, Hatake-san."

Sakumo sat down and said quietly, "What is wrong with my son?"

Chizuru sipped her tea and said sadly, "At some point in the future, Konoha falls."

Sakumo blanched. "What?!"

"Konoha falls," Chizuru said, "And the last Kazama travels back in time to change things, but he has the Yochigan. Because of that, his actions are for the most part, bound. He does his very best, but dies defending the Sandaime. That Oracle, knowing that he would die before anything was finalized, left behind safeguards, a seal and a set of instructions, and three potential Mouths. Of the three potential Mouths, only two were supposed to have the honor of coming here to change what is to come, but something happened, and the other potential Mouth stumbles across the seal first. Without having the instructions that had been given the other two, and blinded by grief, he activated the seal and was sent back in time and awoke in his child's body."

"What does that have to do with Kakashi-kun?" Sakumo demanded. "What does that have to deal with my son?!"

"Haven't you realized it yet?" Ibiki's voice was gruff, "Those three potential Mouths were Mitarashi Anko, myself, and Hatake Kakashi. Your boy has been acting oddly. Just yesterday, the Future Oracle's Mouth arrived here in his past."

"Kakashi-kun?" Sakumo whispered. "But if the adult mind of Kakashi-kun is in his body, than what happened to the mind of my little boy!"

Chizuru sighed. "Two entities cannot exist in the same place at the same time. It is likely that the two minds melded into one, unless the two minds are too different. In which case, the dominant mind will take over the body while the lesser mind fades out of existence."

Sakumo sat back, his eyes dark. "But _why_? What has happened?"

"Hatake-san…" Chizuru's voice was sad, "I know it is difficult for you, but things have gotten very bad. The Kazama Clan is in the final stages of its decline. Konoha has become too reliant on the Oracle, and nears the point of its own downfall. Kakashi's destiny is now clouded, and the fate of all of Konoha rides on his decisions. There are many critical points that could be changed, for better or for worse. Kakashi, by coming here, sealed his agreement with his Oracle, and is now a Mouth. His own burden has grown, so Hatake-san, don't do anything foolish!"

Sakumo stared at the Oracle.

"Everything he has ever loved has been stripped away in a single instant," Chizuru said, "But he has a second chance to redo everything while simultaneously seeing Konoha to a better future. He'll need all the support he can get, so Hatake-san, please, for Kakashi's sake, during this mission, don't do anything rash!"

Sakumo merely looked at Chizuru and said dryly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

Not long after, Sakumo and his squad were dashing out the gates and disappearing into the forests of Fire Country…

* * *

Arashi grinned at the three children as the alarm went off. "Aww…" he cooed, "listen to all those hungry bellies…" Three heartfelt glares were sent his way, and Arashi's grin widened. "Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news, none of you got a bell!" The heads of the three genin drooped. "The good news is, you all passed."

"Yatta!" Rin laughed.

"Whoohoo!" Obito whooped. "Oh, yeah! I'm a ninja! Whoohoo!"

Kakashi's eyes curved with a smile, though, Arashi noted, they were still filled with sadness. He couldn't help but wonder if there was anything short of seeing Naruto again that would wipe the sorrow from those dark eyes.

* * *

"Ok, Kakashi-kun, I'm sure you already know Ibiki-kun?" Chizuru asked.

Kakashi nodded.

"Ibiki-kun will be instructing you to be a proper Mouth to your Oracle, even if Naruto-kun hasn't been born yet. Remember, you are the Mouth of an Oracle from the future. Your every action will determine if Konoha's future changes."

"…."

"Now, first we will have to officially recognize you as Naruto-kun's Mouth. Are you ready?"

"Hai."

"Very well," Chizuru rose to her feet and said gently, "Kneel." Kakashi knelt as Chizuru closed her eyes and flung her arms outward as her eyes shifted into the Yochigan.

"I, Kazama Chizuru, three hundred fifty ninth Oracle of the Kazama Lineage do here administer the Oath of the Mouth as Ancestor to Kazama Naruto, three hundred and sixtieth Oracle of the Kazama Lineage, in place of my descendant who is yet to be born. By the Oracle Kazama Naruto's Will and Choice, this Entity is selected. Do you, Hatake Kakashi, swear to uphold the honor of your Oracle, to present yourself with all power vested upon you by the Will of the Oracle?"

"I do so swear," Kakashi answered.

"Do you, Hatake Kakashi, swear to honor your Oracle's will, and present the Oracle's words as the Oracle spoke them, and as it is to be inscribed within the records of this Clan and Village?"

"I do so swear."

"Do you, Hatake Kakashi, swear to honor and serve your Oracle, to be ever loyal, to protect with all your heart, mind, body and soul?"

"I do so swear."

"Do you, Hatake Kakashi, swear that as Mouth, you will act as befitting one who is an extension and representation of the Oracle's honor and body?"

"I do so swear."

"I, Kazama Chizuru, three hundred fifty ninth Oracle of the Kazama Lineage did here administer the Oath of the Mouth as Ancestor to Kazama Naruto, three hundred and sixtieth Oracle of the Kazama Lineage, in place of my descendant who is yet to be born. By the Oracle Kazama Naruto's Will and Choice, this Entity is selected. Hatake Kakashi, you are now the Oracle's Mouth. Hold to your Oaths, and bring all honor to the name of your Oracle."

There was an explosion of chakra, and the room was silent but for the breathing of the four ninja. Chizuru lowered her arms to her side and smiled down at Kakashi as her eyes reverted from the Yochigan to the usual pale blue.

"Now, you are a true Mouth of the Oracle, Kakashi-kun," Chizuru said, and she fainted.

Kakashi lurched to his feet, his eyes wide with worry, and Arashi and Ibiki caught Chizuru before she hit the floor.

TBC …

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** hmm… What's next I wonder?

_SanadaSayuri_

Nightwing TalesWill nothing ever be the same?


	7. Chapter 6 Fallen

CSA Version 9Parallel SurrealityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Surreality

**Summary:** The Kazama Clan has fallen, and Kakashi is grieving for a love that was confessed far too late. When he finds a letter written to him by Naruto, he gets knocked out, and woke up as… something unexpected…

**SS's Notes:** The chapters are getting longer, and will be longer yet!

**SS's Notes II:** Timeskip. Kakashi is eight, then timeskip again and Kakashi is thirteen and Konoha is at war with Iwa.

Chapter 6: Fallen

Kakashi stared at the grave, his body numb with sorrow. After all that had happened, how could this come to be? What was the use of being the Oracle's Mouth if he couldn't save his own flesh and blood? Why had his father done this?

Kakashi knew that Sakumo had visited Kazama Chizuru. Kakashi _knew_ that Chizuru had told his father something, and that Sakumo was glad to know that his child would grow to be a strong man who would fight to the death for something he felt was right.

But if Sakumo was so proud of his son, then why had this happened? Why was Sakumo dead by his own hand, again?!

Kakashi wanted nothing more than to be allowed to throw his head back and howl his grief to the skies like one of his nin-dogs. It was only his teacher's hand on his shoulder and the Sandaime's presence that kept him from breaking down like the child that he was.

It had been three years since he had arrived here in the past, and eight year old Hatake Kakashi felt his heart break…

* * *

Almost immediately afterward, Team Seven was swept away with a plethora of wartime missions. Obito and Rin avoided him like the plague, and while Kakashi appreciated their feeble attempts to allow him to grieve, the pain that he was experiencing was just too much. Before the eyes of his teammates and his village, he closed himself off from the world, and performed his duties as the Mouth of an unborn Oracle in addition to his duties as a Konoha Chunnin. He spoke only when spoken to, did his duties, and brooded in between.

* * *

Arashi and Chizuru watched as their successor's Mouth withdrew, and became dangerously depressed. It wasn't a surprise to them; they had expected this for a long time already. What they _were_ worried about, was that Kakashi's pain may become too much for him, and he would try to escape it in an irreversible manner.

* * *

Things were moving along so quickly, Kakashi thought. First he had been living his life normally, minding his own business and struggling with his own losses, which after a decade, had still weighed on him. Then he had passed his first genin team, one of whom was his sensei's son, and possessed the Yochigan. Then as time passed, he had found himself falling in love with his charge, and almost immediately, his kids were in the Chunnin Exam and Orochimaru was attacking, and the next thing he knew, Naruto had revealed the secret of the Uchiha Massacre, and Sasuke killed Orochimaru, and then Naruto had confessed his feelings to him and had died in his arms.

Kakashi could still feel warm blood dripping between his fingers, the weak movement of Naruto's body, and then the tension draining away as the boy's body went limp and the life fled from the boy's body.

As if that wasn't enough, he had foolishly activated a seal and had been sent into the past. Seven years had years had passed already, and Kakashi knew that his mind was reaching its limit. He felt thin, as if he were butter scraped across too much bread.

He shook away his thought and took a deep breath. He stood up and collected his things. His team had a mission to fulfill, and if Kakashi remembered correctly, it was this mission during which he would be promoted to jounin, and his thirteenth birthday was in three days, which meant that _that_ mission in Grass Country was quickly approaching…

* * *

There was a time for certain things, and as his left eye was damaged, Kakashi knew that his own time had come. He reached back and brought out his teacher's gift…

* * *

Arashi felt the tug of his specialized kunai from the direction of Grass Country. His vision flashed briefly through his mind as he apologized to the field commander and flashed away.

* * *

There was a weight on his body, his left, if the numb feeling was any indication.

"—ashi!"

What…?

"—kashi-kun!"

"—mit! Wh—yo—stard?!"

_I'm sorry…_

"—sa—stre— on't t—alk…"

_I wish I could see what's coming…_

"—ld on! Ka—!"

_I see him… Naruto… He's smiling at me…_

"You—od Ka—Naru—oud…"

_Yeah… I'm coming Naruto…I love you…_

Then there was only silence and darkness…

* * *

The war with Hidden Stone had ended, and the remnants of Team Seven stood together. Kakashi's funeral had been held not too long ago, but this time, for whatever reason, the Yondaime had insisted on his team attending this dedication.

Rin and Obito would learn for the first time the reason behind their younger teammate's depression, and why he received so much leeway, especially from the Kazama Clan and the Hokage.

Whatever they had been expecting, the knowledge that the Kakashi they knew was the adult Kakashi from the future, and the Mouth to a yet unborn Oracle.

Kakashi was receiving a dedication that was given to all Mouths for their service with Kazama Chizuru performing the dedication by right of Ancestry to the unborn Oracle that Kakashi served…

* * *

When Magami Tokiko was pregnant with Kazama Arashi's child, sixteen year old Natsume Rin and Uchiha Obito could only exchange sad looks, remembering from the dedication years before that this child was the Oracle for whom Kakashi had traveled through time. The Kyuubi was coming, and all the two could do was don their respective masks, Rin's as a member of Konoha's Hunter ninja force, and Obito's as a member of the elite ANBU Corps, and go out to fight.

* * *

Kazama Chizuru, still alive, and only clinging to the last vestiges of her sanity with the help of her brother, his bride, and her Mouth, knocked out her brother, and set out to the battlefield…

* * *

OWARI

* * *

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** Here's a more definite script. The first line was Rin saying, "Kakashi!" The second line was also Rin saying, "Kakashi-kun!" Third line is Obito going, "Dammit! Why, you bastard!?" Fourth line is Rin saying, "Save your strength, don't try to talk…" The Fifith line, the Yondaime arrives and is saying, "Hold on! Kakashi!" and the sixth time is still the Yondaime, "You did good, Kakashi. Naruto would be proud…"

Annnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddd… This is…. THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Up next:** Parallel Continuity, which picks up directly from here. In the meantime, there will also be Parallel Eternity, which starts with the second half of the Epilogue for Parallel…

_SanadaSayuri_

Nightwing TalesWill nothing ever be the same?


	8. ParaCont: Prologue

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

prologue

Konohagakure no Sato in the heart of Fire Country was in mourning. The last of the Kazama Clan was gone, and there would never again be a blue eyed Oracle wandering the village, and guiding the Hidden Leaf through rough times. The Kazama Clan had finally fallen, and those who had lived through the previous Oracles suddenly felt defenseless, as though a long standing defense had suddenly vanished.

In many ways, it was the truth. Konoha had always had an Oracle to guide the village from the very moment of its founding. The Oracle Sorasmaru had met the Shodai Hokage through her distant kin, Uchiha Madara, and had guided him to build his village in its current position. Soramaru had become so besotted with the infant village, that she had settled in Konoha permanently, and started a family. Ever since then, Soramaru's children had lived and protected the village. By the power of the Oracle, Konoha had become one of the greatest Ninja Villages to ever exist, and now that the line of Oracles had broken…

Would the village fall without an Oracle? Konoha was entering its most difficult times. They were now to live without an Oracle. The Oracle, who had guided them, protected them…

Throughout the village, only one man did not grieve. Rather, he laughed and toasted Kazama Uzumaki Naruto Kazuki's name and gathered his forces to him. He never thought that the Oracle might have spoken of him in his last moments, and for Danzou, that would be his fall…

* * *

Kakashi stood inside the house that Naruto and his friends had resided in for so long. All around, he could see the signs of daily life in the Oracle Manor. In that sink were the remnants of dirty dishes, and pots and pans still soaking and waiting to be washed. On that table was that delicate flower-like cup from which Naruto and his housemates tended to drink their tea. On the kitchen counter was a pile of vegetables, set to the side for preparation of the next meal, and in a large bowl next to the vegetables was a hunk of frozen meat, still thawing.

In the living room, was that single glass table surrounded by the couches and sofa, and there were signs of preparations for war. There were those shuriken, which had been left out because they were dull, the kunai that had not been taken because the wrappings on the handle was loose, and the blade was chipped. There was that extra roll of nin-wire that had been left behind, and the small sack of soldier pills, and slung over that chair was a jacket, and in that corner was a set of weights.

Kakashi wandered through the house, until he reached a room which had housed the one person he had ever loved most.

Naruto…

The young Oracle rarely wore bright colors unless he was inside the village, even then, it was usually as a jacket that could be quickly thrown off and turned inside out so the dark lining would be more appropriate for a ninja's line of work. Kakashi opened the door slowly and stepped inside.

The emblem of Konoha and the Oracle seemed to be the theme in that room, and there, hanging on a hook was Naruto's formal robes. Over there was that little sleeping cap that he had outgrown and stopped wearing when he turned ten. On that bedside table was a picture of Naruto and the four teens Anko and Ibiki tended to call the Pilots, and that picture was surrounded by that team photo that had been taken not long after Team Seven had been officially passed, and there were pictures of Naruto at a party with the ANBU who watched him surrounding him. There was even a picture of the boy with his arms around Iruka's shoulders as the two laughed toward the camera.

Kakashi picked up the sleeping cap and pressed his face against it, and breathed in. He could smell Naruto on it, the scent of ramen and sunshine, with warm green tea, and the cold metallic scent of the kunai and shuriken that was a part of every ninja's arsenal, and the faintest traces of blood and tears, all of which made up Naruto's unique scent.

Tears sprang once more to his eyes, and Kakashi sat down heavily on Nauto's bed, clutching the hat to his chest. The pillow shifted, and there was a crinkling of paper.

Curious, his tugged the paper out from beneath the pillow. His name had been written on it, underneath it was a seal that resembled a chakra seal, so Kakashi channeled his chakra into the seal. If he had been less desperate to find a way to ignore the fact that Naruto was dead, he'd have knwn better. As it was, the seal glowed then all Kakashi knew was darkness…

* * *

Kakashi opened his eyes and froze. Then he sat up and looked around. There were the tatami floors, the dark green futon, over there was the… What in seven hells was going on?

There was something in his hand, and Kakashi glanced down and his eyes widened as the seal he had activated faded before his eyes and Naruto's scrawling script materialized on the paper.

"_Kakashi… Those who have even a drop of Kazama blood are always constrained by fate. Those who do not are not so much so. I have done my best, this seal was a safeguard if I were to die before my work is complete. Now you are my Mouth. Carry this with you at all times and good luck. You will be the Ark that will carry Konoha into a brighter future. Go first and seek out the Oracle Chizuru and show her this note. She will finalize your position as the Mouth to her successor, the Oracle Kazama Kazuki. This requires utmost secrecy, and only Chizuru will know of your origins from the future. She will guide you as best as she can. By now, you are aware of where and when you are. From this point on, the rest is up to you. Sincerely, Kazama Kazuki, Oracle."_

Kakashi stared at the scrap of paper in horror. He had been sent back in time…

* * *

There was a weight on his body, his left, if the numb feeling was any indication.

"—ashi!"

What…?

"—kashi-kun!"

"—mit! Wh—yo—stard?!"

_I'm sorry…_

"—sa—stre— on't t—alk…"

_I wish I could see what's coming…_

"—ld on! Ka—!"

_I see him… Naruto… He's smiling at me…_

"You—od Ka—Naru—oud…"

_Yeah… I'm coming Naruto…I love you…_

Then there was only silence and darkness…

* * *

The war with Hidden Stone had ended, and the remnants of Team Seven stood together. Kakashi's funeral had been held not too long ago, but this time, for whatever reason, the Yondaime had insisted on his team attending this dedication.

Rin and Obito would learn for the first time the reason behind their younger teammate's depression, and why he received so much leeway, especially from the Kazama Clan and the Hokage.

Whatever they had been expecting, the knowledge that the Kakashi they knew was the adult Kakashi from the future, and the Mouth to a yet unborn Oracle.

Kakashi was receiving a dedication that was given to all Mouths for their service with Kazama Chizuru performing the dedication by right of Ancestry to the unborn Oracle that Kakashi served…

* * *

When Magami Tokiko was pregnant with Kazama Arashi's child, sixteen year old Natsume Rin and Uchiha Obito could only exchange sad looks, remembering from the dedication years before that this child was the Oracle for whom Kakashi had traveled through time. The Kyuubi was coming, and all the two could do was don their respective masks, Rin's as a member of Konoha's Hunter ninja force, and Obito's as a member of the elite ANBU Corps, and go out to fight.

Kazama Chizuru, still alive, and only clinging to the last vestiges of her sanity with the help of her brother, his bride, and her Mouth, knocked out her brother, and set out to the battlefield…

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** This is the sequel to Parallel Surreality, and since it picks up almost right away after Kakashi dies, I decided not to set it as a separate story.

_SanadaSayuri_


	9. ParaCont: Obito

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

**Chapter 8: Obito**

"_Kakashi!" Obito screamed, lunging toward his downed comrade._

"_Look out! Kakashi-kun! Obito-kun!" Rin screamed._

_Kakashi's arm shot out, shoving a sheathed blade into Obito's hands as he pushed himself to his knees, and tossed the Uchiha over his shoulder toward their only female Teammate._

"_When Sensei's child becomes a genin, please give this to him with my apologies…" Kakashi whispered in the brief moment in which Obito's feet were leaving the floor._

_The next thing he knew, the Uchiha hit the ground with a grunt, and Rin shrieked in surprise as a three pronged kunai, their sensei's gift to Kakashi flew past her, missing her face by a hair's width. At that moment, there was an ominous rumble as more rocks fell around them._

"_Rin! Kakashi!" Obito scrambled to his feet, he sighed in relief to find Rin beside him._

"_Kakashi-kun!!!" Rin called, "Kakashi-kun!"_

_There was a quiet gasp and gurgle, and Rin and Obito spun to find their teacher behind them, and the enemy was collapsing in a boneless heap, his throat cut. They'd never seen his face look like that before._

"_Where's Kakashi?" Yondaime-sensei's voice was harsh._

_There was a quiet rasp of pained breathing, and Sensei's eyes turned to a point behind them. Obito and Rin could only turn and stare in the direction of the rasp, and their eyes widened._

"_Kakashi!"_

_He was under a rock, the left side of his body was crushed. Rin didn't have to say anything since it was painfully obvious that Kakashi wasn't going to last long anyway._

"_Kakashi!"_

_The boy's eyelids fluttered._

"_Kakashi-kun!"_

"_Dammit! Why, you bastard?!_

_Kakashi's eyes were only slightly open. It seemed as if holding his eyes open that little bit was draining him of strength._

"_I'm sorry…" he whispered._

"_Save your strength," Rin murmured, "Don't try to talk."_

_Obito had the feeling that Kakashi wasn't really aware of what was happening._

"_I wish… I could see… what's coming…"_

_Obito's shoulders shook. He couldn't believe this was happening…_

"_Hold on! Kakashi!" Sensei yelled._

"_I see him…"_

_See who? Was all Obito could think._

"_Naruto…"_

_Sensei's shoulders stiffened._

"_He's smiling at me…"_

_Sensei's shoulders slumped, and his voice was sad when he said, "You did good, Kakashi. Naruto would be proud."_

"_Yeah…" Kakashi's lips stretched in a smile that could be seen under his mask. His free hand twitched as if he were trying to lift it. "I'm coming, Naruto…"_

_Sensei's shoulders were shaking now, and Rin was looking away._

"_I…" Kakashi's eyes slid shut, "love you…"_

_Obito slammed his eyes shut, realizing belatedly that his Sharingan was still active, and that his eyes had recorded the entire thing…

* * *

_

Obito opened his eyes to the ringing of his alarm clock, and he reached over and slapped his palm onto the irritating object. He sighed as he looked around his room. Everything was thrown into sharp contrast as the morning sun streamed through the window.

"That day again, huh?" he muttered.

He stood up and walked to the window, staring out at the roofs of the village, stretching away into the distance.

* * *

Three years ago, the war with Hidden Stone had claimed the life of Hatake Kakashi, and a month after his funeral, the entirety of Team 7 had been invited to the Kazama Clan House, where the Oracle, Kazama Chizuru performed a Mouth's Dedication, at which point, Obito and Rin discovered that initially, it had been supposed to be Obito who had died, and Kakashi, the Mouth of a yet unborn Oracle, had changed everything by dying in Obito's place. 

After that day, Obito often wondered what the future was like that Kakashi would have to return to this past after he had lost so much, to relive all that grief and pain. The Last Oracle had died, which was why sending a Mouth back through time was necessary, since the future afterward was a bleak one, but Obito always wondered what it was like. How had Kakashi survived up to seven years of living with the ghosts of his past while mourning a fallen Oracle that he had loved and could never see for many more years?

But questions about the future were not questions that could be asked. Not to the Oracle, who was busy trying to stay on the right side of the thin line that separated her sanity from insanity while simultaneously trying to keep the future stable. Obito wouldn't dream of asking Yondaime-sensei, not after the last time… Obito had never seen the Yondaime look at anyone with such anger before, not even the enemy…. The obvious person to ask would have been Kakashi, but Kakashi was dead…

* * *

Obito, clad in a formal dust blue gi and white hakama stood in front of the memorial stone, his Sharingan fixed on a name on the carved surface. 

"Did I tell you that I was made an ANBU Captain the other day?" he asked the dark stone. "Sometimes I wonder how things would be if you were still alive. Would the three of us be in the same ANBU team? Would Rin have joined the ANBU instead of the Hunters? You know life's not so much fun now that you're gone. We all miss you."

There was a moment where the only sound was the sounds of the forest, and the wind blowing through the trees.

"Today is Sensei's wedding, Kakashi," he said quietly. "You should be here, you know. I hope you're watching us, wherever you are."

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** Another short chapter…. Facefaults… What the hell though! Why was this stupid chapter so damned hard!?????? –goes to cry in a corner--

_SanadaSayuri_


	10. ParaCont: Rin

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

**Chapter 9: Rin**

The year Kakashi died had been the year that the Leaf-Stone War ended. The last Kazamas had doled out such vengeance against the Stone for an unborn Oracle's Mouth that Hidden Stone had no choice but to surrender. Almost immediately after the war ended, their sensei had been inaugurated as the Yondaime, and Obito was recruited into the ANBU while Rin began training under Hiyohime, the Commander of the Oinin.

Almost three years after Kakashi's death, Yondaime-sensei married Magami Tokiko, and Yondaime-sensei summoned his students to him, and had them promise him that they would protect his children no matter what.

Obito and Rin both promised most solemnly that they would protect their teacher's family to the best of their abilities.

Three months later, Obito and Rin were told that Kazama Tokiko was pregnant. Two months after that, Rin discarded her name and apartment in the Citizen's (where the ninja lived) Sector for the unadorned mask of a Hunter Ninja and the codename Suzaku. Obito was promoted to Vice-Captain of his ANBU squad.

Seven months later, the Kyuubi came to Konoha…

* * *

Rin stared at the white porcelain mask on her dresser. Its featureless surface was painted with red and black spirals, and a tiny Konoha symbol was carved on the forehead. Was it possible that it had been four years since Kakashi's death? She sighed and stroked the cool porcelain. In half an hour, she would have to report in, and as the Hokage's primary physician, she would help Kazama Tokiko give birth to young Naruto, the child Oracle whom Kakashi had died serving.

And at the same time…

She turned to stare out the window at that red glow on the horizon. There was a flare of light and an explosion. Rin's eyes darkened.

Obito and Yondaime-sensei were out there. She should be out there too. Her place was with her team, who would protect them if not her? The Kyuubi was out there, and they were fighting, and she was safe inside the village, and expected to help the Hokage's wife give birth to the child who would become Konoha's pride and joy as well as the last of the Oracles. She hated it. She had been trained by Hiyohime, the former Commander of the Hunters. Surely she was skilled enough to be on the battlefield also?

But no. She knew what was needed. Her duty was to ensure that Tokiko gave birth to a healthy child, and since Tsunade was not here, the duty fell to her, she who was as skilled in Medicine as Tsunade.

Rin would do her duty, but she wouldn't be happy about it…

* * *

Kazama Kazuki Naruto came into the world, a squalling babe, wailing at the top of his admittedly very strong lungs, his eyes shut tight and his entire body slick with blood and fluids as he flailed his clenched fists about, angry at the sudden transition from the warmth of his mother's womb into the much colder air outside.

"He looks like you, Sensei," she said, holding the cleaned infant wrapped in a pale blue blanket out to his father.

Yondaime-Sensei's face was a mask of determination, adoration, fear, and more than a little self-loathing as he swept the newborn into his arms. He held the child, rocked him, and crooned lovingly at him for a while. Then he looked Suzaku in the eye and said curtly, "You promised."

Suzaku nodded. "I will protect him, Sensei," she said.

"Take care of Obito and Tokiko also," he said.

"I will do all that I can," Suzaku replied.

Yondaime-Sensei nodded and left, leaving Suzaku to clean up and see to Tokiko after the difficult labor. Kazama Tokiko was a proud mother of the next generation of Oracles, but she was exhausted and bleeding heavily. It was all Suzaku could do to keep the young mother alive.

She could hear precisely when the battle ended. She had an idea of what the final outcome would be, but when the ANBU and Oinin were summoned to the Hokage's Office, she was surprised by the sight…

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** Another short chapter…. Facefaults… On the bright side, I had an easier time writing this chapter. All I needed was a few references to the one-shot, Angel of Death II: Suzaku's Promise, and voila! A chapter in Rin's perspective all done! If you have read Suzaku's Promise, you will find that the name of Naruto's mother is very different from the name in the Parallel Series. While most of my stories are linked in one way or another, I didn't want them to be carbon copies of one another, hence the differences in the names.

_SanadaSayuri_


	11. ParaCont: Chizuru

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

**Chapter 10: Chizuru**

The year Kakashi died had been the year that the Leaf-Stone War ended. Arashi and Chizuru had doled out such vengeance against the Stone for an unborn Oracle's Mouth that Hidden Stone had no choice but to surrender. Almost immediately after the war ended, Arashi had been inaugurated as the Yondaime, and Obito was recruited into the ANBU while Rin began training under Hiyohime, the Commander of the Oinin. Chizuru had reached the end of her use, and despite that, lingered on, with only her Mouth and her brother to keep her sane. Without Kakashi, Konoha needed an Oracle to ensure that Fate did not undo what Kakashi had changed.

* * *

Almost three years after Kakashi's death, Arashi married Magami Tokiko, and Arashi had summoned his students to him, and had them promise him that they would protect his children no matter what.

Obito and Rin both promised most solemnly that they would protect their teacher's family to the best of their abilities.

* * *

Three months later, Obito and Rin were told that Kazama Tokiko was pregnant. Two months after that, Rin discarded her name and apartment in the Citizen's (where the ninja lived) Sector for the unadorned mask of a Hunter Ninja and the codename Suzaku. Obito was promoted to Vice-Captain of his ANBU squad.

* * *

Seven months later, the Kyuubi came to Konoha…

Chizuru stood on the roof of the Kazama Clan House, her face turned toward the red glow on the distant horizon. There was a sudden explosion followed by a plume of smoke, and a howl of rage and the screams of the dying. Her Yochigan spun rapidly in her eyes as Ibiki stood behind her, his entire posture tense from the inhuman killing intent flowing over the village. This event was one that had been expected, long before Kakashi-kun had traveled to them from the future, a future that would never be if the Kazama Clan played their parts correctly. The war with Hidden Stone had whittled the Kazama Clan from their initial dozens to the current three, well, four, if one counted the soon to be born child.

Even despite that, the Magami Clan's numbers were falling as well, and Chizuru wondered absently if Naruto's Kazama blood overpowered the Magami Clan's own bloodline limit. If so, then one would have to hope that his Magami Cousins survived, because Naruto would likely be unable to continue the line of Shadow-Sacrifices, especially if he was the Last Oracle as Kakashi had claimed.

There was so much to do, so much to change…

Chizuru wondered absently if Naruto would grow up to be in anyway similar to the version she had connected with in the Collective. It was quite possible. There had been one or two situations where an Oracle had traveled back in time, and each time, said Oracle had left another imprint, which eventually merged with the previous imprint. Never before had an Oracle sent their Mouth to drastically change things before they were born. It was highly likely that the first time Naruto tapped the Collective; he'd merge with the imprint that his no-longer-existent future version had left behind. It would be a fascinating study, but sadly, she wouldn't be around to see it.

She had overstayed her time anyway, but she had one last thing to do before she died, and she would ensure that her nephew would have family, blood family, instead of a hodgepodge of adoptive/surrogate family, and what blood family he did have would not be an aunt driven half-mad from her Yochigan. No, he would have a father and mother to spoil him, and cousins to play with. If things went well, there would be no reason for this village to hate the poor boy, and this village would be safe from the destruction that was to come. It was all she could do for the poor broken boy who had lost everything and went back and regained so much only to die before he could properly love, and for the other young boy who had suffered so much, only to be thrown into the ghosts of his path to serve someone he would have to wait years for, only to never get that chance.

She would ensure that Kakashi and Naruto's sacrifices weren't in vain.

She would ensure that the Kazama Clan would continue on, even if they would no longer produce the Yochigan…

It was really all she could do now. In a few more weeks, she would loose her mind altogether.

Therefore, for as long as she still had some sanity left, she would use it to complete and anchor the changes made by Naruto and Kakashi so that there would not be as much suffering. And maybe, just maybe, Kakashi and Naruto would be able to meet again in the future.

An Oracle and their Mouth was bound to one another, mind, body and soul, after all…

* * *

Kazama Kazuki Naruto came into the world, a squalling babe, wailing at the top of his admittedly very strong lungs, his eyes shut tight and his entire body slick with blood and fluids as he flailed his clenched fists about, angry at the sudden transition from the warmth of his mother's womb into the much colder air outside.

"He looks like you, Sensei," Suzaku had said, holding the cleaned infant wrapped in a pale blue blanket out to his father.

Arashi's face was a mask of determination, adoration, fear, and more than a little self-loathing as he swept the newborn into his arms. He held the child, rocked him, and crooned lovingly at him for a while. Then he looked Suzaku in the eye and said curtly, "You promised."

Suzaku nodded. "I will protect him, Sensei," she said.

"Take care of Obito and Tokiko also," he said.

"I will do all that I can," Suzaku replied.

Arashi nodded and left, leaving Suzaku to clean up and see to Tokiko after the difficult labor. Kazama Tokiko was a proud mother of the next generation of Oracles, but she was exhausted and bleeding heavily. It was all Suzaku could do to keep the young mother alive.

* * *

Chizuru met with her brother just inside the lobby of the Hokage's Tower and held out her hands. Arashi placed the baby in her arms, and she smiled at the child, gently tracing a rounded cheek with a finger. She looked at her brother.

"Do you really intend to do this, Arashi?"

"There is no other way."

"Are you sure of that?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "What are you planning, Chizuru?"

"Forgive me, Arashi."

"What?"

Chizuru's eyes flashed with the Yochigan, and faster than Arashi could see, her fist lashed out. Arashi gasped, doubled over his sister's fist in his gut, and his eyes slid shut and his body went limp. Chizuru allowed her brother to collapse to the floor, and clutched the child close as she leapt onto the roof of a nearby building, her eyes filling with tears.

_Forgive me, Arashi... _

_I'm so very sorry, Naruto-kun… You won't have a Mouth because he has already died, but the least I can do is ensure that your life won't be too difficult… If I can smooth the way for you, then nothing else matters…_

_Please forgive me, brother, nephew..._

_Farewell, Ibiki…_

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** Another short chapter…. Facefaults… It was so hard trying to write Chizuru's part. I'm actually surprised by how reasonable she came across as since by this point, she's half insane from the Yochigan's effects. On the bright side, starting with the next chapter, the chapters will be getting longer.

_SanadaSayuri_


	12. ParaCont: Arashi

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

**Chapter 11: Arashi**

The last thing Arashi had ever expected had been for his sister to perform the sealing. But then again, it should have been expected. She was doing the very thing that the Oracles of Konoha were known for, and unlike other Oracles, Chizuru, a Jounin of Konoha, would have a Hero's funeral. It had been a surprise to wake up in the lobby of the Hokage's Tower, to find a team of ANBU hovering over them, their chakra flaring with anxiety while Obito clung to him as he regained consciousness.

"What…" Arashi groaned as Obito leapt to his feet to help his teacher up.

Arashi looked around and frowned, noticing the dimming red glow on the horizon. What had happened returned to him in a rush.

"Shit!" Arashi leapt onto the roof of the nearest building.

"Hokage-sama!"

"Sensei!"

"Damn that Chizuru!" Arashi growled as he rushed across the village. "What the hell was she thinking?"

He barely noticed the ANBU following him from a distance.

* * *

Arashi arrived at the edge of the battlefield and felt his blood freeze. In the midst of all the blood and gore lay a figure clad in dark grey, a small writhing bundle clutched to her chest. Delicate strands of black floated gently in the crimson pool as ninja landed around her. Arashi scrambled forward to pull his sister and his son to him, tears falling unchecked from sorrowful cerulean eyes.

"Chizuru…" Arashi whispered, "Why?"

He turned his head to the bundle in his arms and his eyes narrowed.

"Naruto…" he whispered, "My precious son… I'm so sorry… But at least, this way, your mother and I can still protect you, ne?"

Cerulean pools stared up at him, and chubby whiskered cheeks puffed up as the baby cooed and reached out to grab the fabric of his father's jacket.

Arashi gently laid Chizuru on the blood soaked ground and stood up, still clutching his son to his chest and barked out orders. When the ninja around him were occupied, Arashi stared down at the child in his arms pensively. The infant yawned widely and fell asleep, and Arashi felt his heart warm at the sight.

"I will protect you, my son," he whispered, "and I will aid you in your uncertain future as best as I can in place of your Mouth…"

He lifted his eyes to the sky as the sun rose slowly, dying the sky a multitude of shades of gold, pink, violet, and reds. A flock of nighttime birds flew by overhead, returning to their homes now that the danger was passed.

"For the Golden Era of our dreams…."

TBC…

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** Ok, so I lied. Definitely the next chapter will be longer. I promise!

_SanadaSayuri_


	13. ParaCont: Naruto

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

**SS's Notes:** It will be important to note, that in Angel of Death II: Suzaku's Promise, Naruto's mother died of infection and heartbreak. In this story, Naruto's mother survived the birth, and not long afterward, she contracted not only an infection, but a serious illness. The infection and the illness combined served to weaken her body, so Magami Tokiko could no longer be a ninja, well, she _could_ be a ninja; she just wouldn't be an effective one. She died during the Leaf-Cloud War which ended when Naruto was 6, two years before we see him for the first time. We will see what kind of person Magami Tokiko was in several of Arashi's (and occasionally, Obito and Rin's) flashbacks.

**Chapter 12: Naruto**

Arashi cradled his child in his arms as he stared out the window at his ruined village. He turned as the door opened and ninja flooded the room.

"Ninja of Konoha," he said calmly as the last ninja entered the room and closed the door. "I bring good news and bad news…"

Silence filled the room, anticipation mixed with dread.

"Kyuubi no Yoko has been defeated!"

A tumultuous shifting of chakra and the relieved slumping of shoulders and quiet sighs of relief was the only indication of the joy of Konoha's ninja.

"However, our losses were great. My sister Chizuru, our precious Oracle, and many other Konoha Ninja gave their lives to stop the Kyuubi's rampage and to save the lives of those who live within this village. Go home and rest, for you have all earned it. Tomorrow, we will rebuild from the ashes of the Kyuubi's coming."

A Hunter remained behind when the ninja left, and Arashi sighed.

"Yes, Suzaku?"

"Did Chizuru-sama take your place, sensei?"

Arashi's eyes darkened.

"I see," Suzaku bowed. "Forgive me, and my condolences, sensei."

"R-Rin… Please take Naruto with you. I-I need to be alone for a bit."

"Yes sensei." Suzaku took the child from Arashi's arms and left wordlessly.

Once the door had closed behind the Hunter, Arashi collapsed, and allowed his tears to flow freely for the first time since the entire fiasco had begun…

* * *

Eight years later…

A child stood on mountain, his short golden hair swaying in the breeze. Lifeless cerulean eyes looked over the village as a single tear slid unheeded down whisker-scarred cheeks. Behind him were two translucent figures whose faces were so much like his own. One was twenty years older than him and clad in an ANBU uniform, while the other was his age, and perhaps a little older, clad in the formal robes of the Kazama Clan.

"_There is so much that needs to be said, but so little time to tell it all in… Konoha is in the throes of war and our numbers are falling… My only sorrow is that despite being an Oracle, I can do nothing to stop it, for simply revealing myself would bring Orochimaru to attack us with greater fervor. The Yochigan would nicely compliment the Sharingan after all…" _the ANBU clad version of the child was saying.

"_A red sun rises, blood was spilt in the night. Today the war begins, and it is my greatest hope that Konoha can survive what is to come. Dark my dreams have been of late, and I fear that the future will not be as bright as I wished it… I only wish that I could have told him how I felt, my most precious person, but ours is a love that can only ever end in tragedy…"_ the slightly older and formally clad version of the child was reciting.

"Naruto?"

Naruto turned to look at the blonde haired man standing behind him, clad in a jounin uniform over which was a white coat trimmed with red flames and on the back the kanji reading Fourth Hokage.

"Dad?"

"Listening to your parallels' stories again?"

"They all gave up everything for this village," Naruto said, "Even love. And then I stand in Training Ground 7 and look at the stone and I see Hatake-san's name and my heart hurts, and I'm not sure if it's my own feelings or if _their_ (he jerks his head toward the two translucent figures still reciting their stories) feelings are influencing mine because we are technically the same person, only having lived different lives. They're all such powerful Oracles, and I can't become like them, I don't think I can do the things they did!"

"Oh, Naruto…" Arashi knelt and drew his son into his embrace. "You're only eight years old. No one expects you to do the things your Parallels or our predecessors did. In the end, you're your own person. They left these imprints to help guide us to a better future, not as standards to measure you by. You were raised differently from your Parallels, and your minds are different."

"But fundamental personality traits don't just disappear, no matter how differently one is raised!" Naruto said.

"That's true," Arashi said quietly, "But don't think that you have to do the same things as your Parallels. They lived in a different time, in different environments, with very different privileges and powers and their upbringings are different from yours. They only had the Collective to turn to, but you have me."

"I don't have to die for the village or the future?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Then why did the Parallel me do it?"

Arashi's eyes became sad. "Because terrible things happened, and they wanted to protect the people they loved. But you see, Naruto? They died for the village and the future because they wanted to. If they had no one they wanted to protect, your Parallels would never have done all the things they did to achieve this future."

"Oh…"

A pause…

"Dad?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Can we have ramen?"

Arashi blinked at his child and the sudden topic change, and chuckled. "Sure kiddo."

"Yatta!"

* * *

One year later…

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. And where the hell is Obito!"

A quiet poof. "Sorry I'm late, sensei. I hade to make sure that the kids were settled"

"And how are they?"

"The medics are working on them. Aunt Mikoto is worst off. If I hadn't gotten back when I had… As for Sasuke, he's in shock and unconscious, but otherwise, he's fine."

"That's good."

"I don't understand why he would do that."

An exasperated sigh.

"Because he's a prodigy, Dead Last."

"Don't call me that, Snake Freak! And besides, you're a prodigy too, and you haven't gone off massacring people!"

Another exasperated sigh.

"Only because I found something worth protecting. Itachi never did."

"I knew it! You fell for the kid while changing his diapers!"

"Shut up Jiraiya."

"Ok, enough! Jiraiya-sensei, see what you can find out about Itachi's motives behind this massacre. Tsunade-ba-san and Rin, take care of the injured Uchiha and make sure that Sasuke has no lasting psychological damage from this. Obito, have the Captains draw up patrol schedules for the ANBU and Special Jounin attached to the Black Ops. With most of your clan gone, the ANBU will have to pick up the slack and protect the village until the Uchihas build up the necessary numbers again."

A series of quiet poofs and the rustling of cloth.

"Orochimaru-ji-san, can you make sure Naruto doesn't find out about this?"

"You should know by now that keeping anything from your son is an exercise in futility, Arashi-kun. The brat's too damned good at finding out things that he shouldn't."

"The less he knows about this, the better I think."

"I can only try."

"Thank you, Ji-san."

Another quiet poof.

The sound of flesh against wood.

"Dammit, why now of all times?!"

* * *

Three years later….

"Dad! Dad! I passed! I passed!"

A blonde haired blur barreled into Arashi, slamming his back into a tree.

"Oomph!" Arashi grunted and smiled, wrapping his arms around the clinging blonde limpet that was his son. "That's great kiddo."

Naruto's body stiffened and Arashi glanced down to see his only child twist out of his arms and turn to stare at the simple wooden swing hanging from the tree in front of the Academy. A brown haired boy sat there, his eyes cast toward the ground. A silver haired man clad in a Chunnin vest walked up to the child and spoke, to which the child perked up. The Chunnin and the boy left together.

"Naruto?"

"Many choices ago, that would have been me on that swing, a failure lured away by Mizuki-sensei with the false promise of a special test that will permit him to become a genin…" Naruto said sadly. "Gennai… He will die tonight… Mizuki-sensei is going to cut his throat…"

Arashi frowned and placed a hand on Naruto's head. "Don't push yourself," he warned. "If you try too hard, you'll end up ruining your eyes instead. It takes a special kind of Kazama Son to activate the Yochigan."

Naruto tilted his head back and smiled at his father. "I know!"

Arashi tilted his head to the side and glanced out of the corner of his eyes and smiled. "It looks like Orochimaru-ji-san wants to congratulate you."

Naruto grinned and took off. "Look, Ji-san! I passed!"

Arashi could hardly contain his amusement as his son slammed into the Snake Sannin's midriff and clung to the lanky man like a limpet while babbling away about how cool it was that he was now a ninja and how he was going to surpass all of his Ji-sans and Baa-sans and Nee-chan and Ni-chan and maybe become Hokage one day while the pale Sannin took it all with good humor and a faint hint of amusement and dare he say it? Pride.

It was hard to believe how much the Snake Sannin had changed, and all it took had been having an adorably sweet infant shoved into his arms while Tokiko was busy at the Academy and Arashi was meeting with foreign dignitaries and Sarutobi was on a vacation with his family and Obito and Rin out of the village on a mission. There was no lack of babysitters where the son of the Hokage was concerned, but after the first time, Orochimaru had insisted that he be the one to take care of the child if he had the time and was in the village. It had turned out for the best, Arashi decided, as he watched the Snake Sannin nod in his direction and lead Naruto away, most likely to a training ground where Orochimaru would show the new genin a new jutsu.

Arashi grinned as he yellow flashed away.

Even if Naruto never awakened the Yochigan, he would still have an advanced form of Insight that bordered on being the Yochigan. And Oracle or no Oracle, Naruto's power to change people was exactly as Kakashi had described, even in his infancy. Orochimaru was a testament to that.

Yes, Arashi decided as he mended leisurely up the stairs of the Hokage Tower to his office, life is good.

He opened the door….

And then all hell broke loose.

"NARUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M GOING TO GET YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

Orochimaru twitched at the sound of the blonde Hokage's voice. Next to him, Naruto burst into giggles. 

"Alright, Naruto," the Sannin said carefully, "What did you do?"

"Nothing, Orochimaru-ji-san!" Naruto chirped.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow but didn't press farther.

* * *

The next day, Naruto all but crawled into the Academy, and he flopped into a chair at random, which was beside one Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the exhausted blonde but said nothing. 

Not long after, one Haruno Sakura and one Yamanaka Ino burst through the door fighting about who made it first, and who Sasuke belonged to, which ultimately resulted in the other girls in that class joining into the fray.

It wasn't long before the door opened and Iruka entered, followed by a group of jounin, one of whom was former ANBU Captain, Uchiha Obito. Naruto knew almost immediately who his jounin supervisor was, and who at least one of his teammates would be.

* * *

For Naruto, his father, Rin-nee-san, and Obito-ni-san were almost predictable to a fault. Arashi would have insisted that Naruto was paired with one of his former students for his own peace of mind, while at the same time, Naruto would be teamed up with the basket cases of the year's graduating class. Naruto was well aware that he had some strange ability to change people's opinion, and knew well enough that his father and most of the ninja who had come in regular contact with him knew it, at that they would strive for him to hone that gift, and at the same time, change the ways of the basket cases so their potential wouldn't go to waste. It was a textbook perfect example of a Hokage using every advantage to its fullest extent for the sake of the village, even if said advantage was his son. Despite knowing this, Naruto couldn't begrudge his father the use of his gift. He may not have the Yochigan like his father, but Naruto did have an advanced enough Insight to know that there were hard times ahead for Konoha, and his father was trying to ensure the well being of the village, if only so his son would have a place to come home to at the end of the day. Because of that, Naruto was determined to grow stronger, and he would take the lessons he had learned from his Parallels and he would put them to use and protect his father, and all the people he loved. Naruto swore that those who harmed his precious people would taste his resolve and his anger, and he would never back down. 

The blonde never realized it, but his choices would be the turning point for Konoha, and the Hidden Village of the Leaf was one step closer to the Golden Era envisioned by his Parallels….

* * *

TBC…

* * *

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** Holy crap! Who would have thought that Orochimaru would be so easily converted into one of the good guys by an infantile Naruto? And… The Yondaime got pranked! What on earth happened? What did Naruto do? We may never know….

* * *

_Time flows ever onward, unheeding of the swirls and eddies that run across the Tapestry of Fate, and the more things change, the more things stay the same…_

"I ask for bodyguards, and I get a bunch of kids? Are they even ninja?!"

"Don't worry, this is the best genin team in the village, and even if they get in over their heads, I am an Uchiha as well as a jounin…."

"I believe if things had been different we could have been friends…."

_An unasked for change in the tapestry ripples across time… And a lesson must be learned…_

"Why?!"

"Is this the first time that you've lost a comrade?"

"You killed him… So I will kill you!"

_In this world, there are no such things as coincidences…._

"You are corrupt, so I cannot let you live. I will kill you with this technique that was left to me by my friend… Raikiri!"

…_There is only the inevitable…_

"Is that… The Yochigan?"

**Next time, in Parallel Continuity: The Waves of Destiny!**

_--The mist has cleared--

* * *

_

_SanadaSayuri_


	14. ParaCont: The Waves of Destiny Part 1

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

**SS's Notes:** A list of terms often used in this story can be found on either my xanga or lj. The link is in my profile, and there are other similar lists of random trivia on both xanga and lj under the tag, "trivia". **Also, since Treize-muse is the only one helping me now, he and I have decided to split ****Chapter 13: The Waves of Destiny**** into two parts since it is getting way too long.**

**Chapter 13: The Waves of Destiny (Part 1)**

Most ninja were unaware of it, but members of the Kazama Clan, due to their Insight and Yochigan, had exceptionally high cognitive abilities that, when applied properly, outstripped that of the Byakugan and the Sharingan. Add to the fact that Naruto had Magami blood, meant that Naruto's cognitive capabilities were boosted to a point never seen before. This is because the Magami possess a Bloodlimit with no true name, but is best known as Shadow Sacrifice.

Shadow Sacrifices were people who used their power to intercept injuries or ill will toward their client, absorbing and taking onto their bodies all that would be inflicted onto their client. The Magami clan were notoriously picky about who their charges were, for once their limit was activated on the behalf of a particular person, they were bound to them for life. But power that is used to protect, can also be used to harm, and few knew that attacking a Magami directly meant that a Magami's death would be the death of their client. For that reason, at the peak of their power, the Magami Clan made up the bulk of Konoha's Hunter Ninja. They protected secrets of their village, and their friends and families and their leaders at the cost of their own well being, and many times, their lives.

It was because of the Magami Clan's Spirit Voice and Shadow Sacrifice techniques that Hidden Stone had not been able to assassinate the Sandaime Hokage, it had been because of the Magami Clan that the Kyuubi's rampage had not been worse and it had been because of the Magami Clan that the Leaf-Cloud War had not dragged out too long, nor claimed too many lives. And in the events to come, it would take what was left of the Magami Clan to ensure Konoha's survival… For it is by the sacrifice of the Magami Clan that the secrets of Konoha are kept safe…

* * *

Obito looked over his students with a critical eye. Obviously, his cousin Sasuke was one of them, the other, Haruno Sakura was known to have the ever elusive twin mind bloodline that was said to have been derived from the Magami Clan's own bloodline. He turned his eyes toward his former teacher's son to find Naruto's eyes fixed on him, a knowing glint in those blue eyes.

It was strange, Obito thought, to realize that this was the very team that Kakashi would have led had he survived the debacle in Grass Country as teens, and in Kakashi's own memories, _had_ led, though the team had fallen apart due to war, much like their own Team 7.

_I won't let this team do the same. I'll protect them for you like you would have wanted, Kakashi, these kids that you taught and protected in a different time…_

"Alright," he said with forced casualness, "Team Seven meet on the roof." He vanished in a puff of chakra smoke.

* * *

Naruto felt his lips twitch slightly as a translucent image appeared in his sight of the younger of his parallels, clad in black and blue, his eyes calm, and somewhat sad, but filled with approval. A flash of movement from the other side drew his eyes, and there was another translucent image of an ANBU, golden hair sticking every which way from behind the mask, arms crossed over his chest, nodding at him. Naruto suddenly knew without a doubt that his Parallels, even in death, knew what was happening, and approved of the changes that had been made, and were still being made, though certain changes saddened them, and despite all that, he was his own person, inherently different from his Parallels, and they would support him so he would never have to live as they did. It was a comforting thought to know that the imprints of his Parallels' souls were there to support him through his endeavors, because it meant that no matter what happened, he would never be alone.

* * *

Naruto stood up and left the classroom, and smirked as the sound of two chairs scraping against linoleum as his teammates scrambled out of their seats to follow. As he reached the stairwell, a flash of movement from the corner of his eye urged him to turn, and there stood a figure that he had seen in the memories of his Parallels. A silver haired, dark eyed man with his forehead protector slanted over one eye, clad in the typical peacetime jounin uniform leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his single visible eye fixed on him.

"_It's Kakashi,"_ the older of the Parallels said in his distant and tinny voice, a faint echo of what it must have been in life. _"He swore himself to you, to __us__ almost a decade ago, and he watches over you still. You see him as an adult instead of as a teen because it was his adult soul that returned to the past from the future. You see his spirit here because you have the Shinigami Eyes, the gift of your Magami blood, a gift that is enhanced by the Yochigan's perceptive abilities, and the fox's innate ability to see and interact with spirits."_

Naruto frowned. Only Oracles were supposed to be able to interact with the Imprints in the way the Parallels were doing. He would have to speak with his father. He inclined his head slightly toward the spirit and made his way up the stairs. He did not see the spirit vanish as he ascended the staircase.

* * *

Obito smiled at his newest charges as they sat in front of him.

"Alright, you lot. Why don't you introduce yourselves? Tell us your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, that sort of thing."

"Um…. Why don't you start, sensei?" Sakura asked, "Just to show us how it's done."

Obito raised an eyebrow, then shrugged as his expression turned lazy. "Why not?" he said lightly as he leaned against the railing. "I'm Uchiha Obito. My likes and dislikes are none of your business, my hobbies… hmm… Dreams for the future…. Ok, your turn, Pinky."

Sakura's eye twitched. _All we learned was his name… and he called me Pinky! I'll tear him to pieces!_

"**Yeah! How dare he? Just 'cuz he's a jounin, doesn't men he can call us names! Bludgeon him to death! Shannaro!"** Inner Sakura roared.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like..." she looked at Sasuke, "my hobbies are..." she looked at Sasuke again, "my dreams for the future are..." she squealed at this point. "I hate Ino-pig!" she finally snarled.

Obito sweatdropped. So not only is she a fangirl, but bipolar? Is this what Kakashi put up with before he got sent back?

"Your turn, blondie."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I like Ramen, Otou-san, and my precious people. I dislike the three minutes it takes for Ramen to cook. My hobbies are training, playing pranks on Otou-san, and training with Orochimaru-oji-san and Ero-sennin. My dream is to become a ninja worthy of the sacrifices made for my future, and to surpass my father."

Obito smiled slightly. _He's grown up a lot in the past few hours. To be expected from Naruto._

"And it's your turn, Mr. Brooder."

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I have few likes and many dislikes," he looked at Sakura out of the corner of his eyes, "I have no hobbies and my... no... It's... it's not a dream. It's more of an ambition. It's to kill a certain man and resurrect my clan."

Obito resisted the urge to groan and pound his head into a nearby wall. _Great. An avenger. I should have known. I can't believe he's still like this. The way he acts, it's as if Aunt Mikoto was killed along with the five cousins that survived, not counting me of course… Geez! What was sensei thinking?!_

"Okay. Tomorrow, bring all of your gear. We're going to have a training session tomorrow. Survival training," Obito said, his face showing none of his thoughts.

"Ano, Obito-sensei, we've already done plenty of survival training in the academy," Sakura spoke up.

"It's to see which of the graduating class is worthy of becoming a genin," Obito replied.

"But I thought we were already genin," Sakura asked.

"No, that was to see who would be able to become a genin," Obito countered, "just to let you know. The test you're going to take has a sixty-six point six percent chance of failing,"

"WHAT!" Sakura screamed.

Sasuke frowned while Naruto tilted his head to the side, a contemplative look on his face.

"Meet me tomorrow at training ground 7 at 5:00 AM. Oh, don't eat breakfast or you'll throw it all up," Obito smiled and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

There was a brief moment of flabbergasted silence.

Then Sakura turned toward Sasuke. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, do you want to go out with me?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"No," Sasuke bluntly said as he left.

Naruto sat still for a moment longer and tilted his head back, his eyes fixed on the sky. The translucent figures of his Parallels appeared seated on either side of him.

"_The more things change, the more they stay the same, ne?" _the younger Parallel said. _"That was the exact same things Kakashi said to us."_

The ANBU Parallel chuckled. _"All I can say is that the future has not been decided yet. Things can still go either way."_

"Ne," Naruto said quietly, and his Parallels fell silent and looked at him, their translucent cerulean eyes looking at him with all solemnity, "Is this normal? I thought only the Oracle is permitted to interact with Imprints from the Collective the way we do."

"_Naruto-kun…."_ The ANBU Parallel said, _"We are exempt from those rules because we are Jinchuuriki. Different laws apply to us as we are no longer completely human. It is simply the way of things."_

"_Don't restrict your own power by following laws set to restrict human Oracles,"_ the younger Parallel said,_ "Because we are Jinchuuriki, we can interact with you in this way because we are not wholly human anymore. Follow the human ways as a front, but always remember that Jinchuuriki are bound by vastly different rules, and all will be well."_

Narutosighed and raised his eyes to the sky. "I guess I'll never be normal huh?"

"_As a rule, Jinchuuriki are never normal,"_ the ANBU Parallel said.

"Yeah." Naruto stood up and dusted off his clothes. "I guess not." he turned and walked away, and his Parallels melted away like a wisp of mist behind him…

* * *

Naruto knelt in the centre of the pond in the meditation courtyard of the Kazama Compound, his face and body serene. His chakra flowed under his skin in a steady, gentle flow, and the flow slowed as he sank deeper and deeper into his mind.

From the doorway, Arashi watched as his son meditated, and wondered vaguely if there was any chance of the Yochigan awakening in the child. He knew that it was unlikely so long as he was alive, but there was a faint hope, since Naruto's Yochigan was precious, and mixed with his Magami blood, it should be much more potent and far seeing than the normal Prediction Eye. It was essential for Naruto to activate the Yochigan since there were things that Arashi was unable to see that Naruto's eyes would undoubtedly see.

There were so many factors that could affect the awakening of the Yochigan, the Kyuubi and the suppression of the child's Magami blood. Even the time and place where the Yochigan awakened could easily affect the fate of the world. Already, the future was changing. Kakashi was dead, Orochimaru was loyal to Konoha, Tsunade had not left Konoha, a single tearful look from Naruto on the day she was leaving and Tsunade had melted into a pile of mushy goo and she didn't take so much as a single step out of the gates, and Jiraiya… well, Jiraiya was still a damned pervert who wrote triple-x rated books while maintaining Konoha's spy network, but the man was much less burdened with grief and loss than the Jiraiya he had seen in the Parallel Narutos' memories.

Arashi could see the changes that Kakashi's death had wrought, but he knew that some things were still inevitable. Hidden Sand would still attempt an invasion of Konoha during Naruto's Chunnin Exam, and the Akatsuki would still come after Naruto, but without the threat of the now non-existent Hidden Sound Village, Konoha would come out of the Chunnin Exam Invasion with more manpower with which to combat the Akatsuki. Chizuru and Tokiko still died, but Naruto still had family, and the village was blissfully ignorant of the sealing of the Kyuubi, and Naruto did not suffer the abuse of the village's hatred and fear.

It was perhaps the only bad thing that had come out of all those changes. His precious little boy was far more sheltered than the one that Kakashi had known, and as a result, much more ignorant of the ways of the world. He was, in essence, weaker because Arashi had coddled him so much.

But then again, the world is filled with many different types of strength, and maybe having more people who would cry because of his injuries or pain from the very start, perhaps it would make him just as strong in a different way. Naruto would grow strong so he would not die and make his Tsunade-oba-san cry, grow strong so his Orochimaru-oji-san would not be disappointed in him, so his Rin-nee-chan and Obito-onii-chan would not worry as much, so his father would not be sad. Maybe, just maybe, having all these people to love and protect from an early age would make his resolve that much stronger. Goodness only knew how much he appreciated his family and pseudo family after one run in with his Parallel selves.

Arashi gave a sad but proud smile at the still form of his son and turned and returned to his study. He had faith in Naruto's ability to protect himself. And that was more than enough for a member of the Magami clan, right?

Somehow, Arashi couldn't help but feel that something was about to happen that would throw all expectations for the future out the window. It would shake Konoha to her very foundations, and many difficult paths would be laid out before Naruto, and each path could lead the boy either to greatness or ruin. He had faith in Naruto, knew that the boy would do well, irregardless of what was coming. After all, the future had yet to be decided….

* * *

"Alright," Obito grinned at the three children in front of him as he set an alarm clock on top of one of the training poles. "This is the beginning of your test. I have set this alarm to noon. You must take these bells from me during that time. If you fail to take a bell before the alarm goes off, you will be sent back to the academy. Come at me with every thing you have, and you may use any trick. Come at me with the intention to kill or you won't be able to get a bell. Start when I say so."

He paused and studied the children who were now watching him expectantly. Suddenly aware of how stupid he was about to sound, he said, "Go!"

As expected, the children vanished. Obito chuckled and leaned against one of the three poles behind him.

"Hmm… They've all hidden themselves well…" Obito mused quietly to himself.

Then he grinned. This was going to be so much fun!

* * *

Naruto fled through the trees, moving as fast and as silently as he dared, moving as far away from the clearing that Obito was in as was possible without loosing sight of it altogether. He knew that something was off about what was happening, and his Parallels were adamant about not interfering with the test. In a fairly twisted way, Naruto thought, it made sense. There was nothing to be gained if he relied on his bloodline, much less his Parallels. Due to a vastly different environment and upbringing, he and his Parallels were very different people with very different abilities… Naruto would have to learn to rely on himself, and there was no better time than the present to start…

* * *

Several hours later, Obito looked at the three children, smiling happily the entire time. Sasuke was leaning against one of the training poles while Naruto was seated at the base of a second one and an unconscious Sakura was tied to the third training pole.

"SASUKE-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed as she bolted awake.

Sasuke twitched and Naruto winced, clapping his hands over his ears. Obito simply chuckled. Then, simultaneously, the three kids' stomachs rumbled, and the three children gave Obito sheepish looks.

"Well now," Obito said, grinning like a loon, "listen to all those hungry tummies…." He brushed off the three heartfelt glares the children sent at him. "Well, I have good news and bad news... The bad news is that none of you got a bell." The children's head drooped. "The good news is…" Here, the three children leaned forward eagerly. "…Naruto, you should return to the Academy," he said gently, and Naruto's head drooped. "Sasuke and Sakura, neither of you need to return to the Academy." He felt bad for a moment as their faces brightened and Naruto's head drooped farther. "You should both quit being ninja!" he roared.

"Wait! What?!" Sakura screeched. "Why does Sasuke-kun and I have to stop being ninja? What about Naruto?!"

"Naruto was the only one who understood the true meaning behind the test," Obito said quietly. "He tried to get the two of you to work together but neither of you heeded him. Sakura, you were so focused on Sasuke, you completely ignored Naruto who was right next to you. Sasuke, you went ahead to do your own thing because you thought that the others would hold you back. Naruto was the only one who considered that a genin alone would not be able to defeat a jounin, much less one of my caliber, but neither of you gave his arguments any thought."

Obito studied the team then turned to stare at the Heroes' Monument behind him. "In the world of ninja, we must work in teams to complete our mission. Teams keep us from over specializing and help us balance out our faults. This is the Heroes' Monument. The names of our heroes are carved on here, among them, the name of my best friend." Obito glanced at the children from the corner of his eye, and continued, "The person who strikes down the leader of the enemy may get the glory, but the glory hound that gets cut down from behind by a peon does not get anything. The names of our heroes are here because they died proudly, in the service of our village. Remember that."

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes were downcast. Naruto, Obito noticed, was staring at a point just over his shoulder, his eyes blank. For a moment, Obito could have sworn he saw a glint of gold in those cerulean eyes.

"I will give you one more chance," Obito said calmly, "Sasuke and Naruto, you may eat your lunch. Don't give Sakura any or you'll all automatically fail." With that, Obito vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Obito reappeared in the trees, and suppressed his chakra.

"You do realize that that type of threat isn't going to work on Naruto?" a voice said from behind Obito.

Obito jumped and turned around. "Sensei! Don't do that!"

Arashi chuckled, "So the great Uchiha can't even sense a pencil pusher standing right behind him? Oh, how far your skills have degenerated, my dear, sweet, one time ANBU Captain…"

Obito pouted, and Arashi grinned. "Kakashi was right. You and Naruto really are alike."

Obito's eyes immediately darkened as he turned to watch the children. Naruto was cutting Sakura free from the post. "I don't get it," Obito muttered, "Why did he allow himself to die if his Oracle was waiting for him? It should have been Kakashi here, not me."

"Be that as it may," Arashi said calmly as he watched as Sasuke grumbled something and shoved his bento box toward Sakura, "what was done is done. There is no such thing in this world as coincidences. There is only the inevitable. As a Mouth whose Oath preceded the birth of his Oracle, Kakashi's duty was to ensure that the future was changed, for better or for worse according to the will of his Oracle. It was inevitable that Kakashi would die somewhere along that line. Someone was going to die in that cave, and Kakashi decided that it would be him, and ultimately, he fulfilled his duty by irrevocably changing the future. The same can be said about my sister's choices at the time of the Kyuubi attack. Someone was going to have to give their life to seal the Kyuubi, and even though I had decided that it would be me, Chizuru took that choice out of my hands."

"The same way Kakashi took that choice out of my hands in Grass Country?"

"Yes, in that exact same way."

"It's not fair though…"

"No, Obito, it's not." Arashi grinned, "Oh, look! Sakura's about halfway through Sasuke's bento, and Naruto's given Sasuke _his_ bento. I think now is the time that you're supposed to jump out and scare them!"

Obito laughed as he formed a ram seal, "Yeah, I guess so…"

* * *

Naruto dashed down the hallway, and dodged around a random paper pusher, causing her to shriek in surprise as she flung her hands, and the stack of papers she was carrying, into the air.

"Sorry!" he called back unrepentantly as a storm of papered fluttered through the air.

He skidded to a halt in front of the secretary who sat in front of his father's office.

"Hey, Sayu-san!" he chirped.

The secretary looked up from the papers she was filling out. "Oh! Good afternoon Naruto-sama. Hokage-sama isn't really doing anything right now, so you go right in."

"'Kay, thanks, bye!"

Sayu blinked as the little orange bundle vanished into the Hokage's office, shrugged, and went back to her work.

"Ne, ne! Tou-san!"

Arashi ignored his son and studied the paperwork in front of him for a moment before signing it with a flourish and looked up.

"Yes, what is it, Naruto?"

"Whatever happened to Mizuki-sensei? I forgot to ask yesterday."

"Oh." Arashi set down his brush and leaned back in his seat and said, "Iruka caught up with Gennai and Mizuki late in the night in time to see Mizuki slit Gennai's throat. Afterward, Obito, who had been passing through on his way to drag Sasuke home from the training grounds, stopped the confrontation, and Mizuki is currently in the midst of a visit with Ibiki. We couldn't save Gennai, unfortunately. But the Forbidden Scroll has been safely retrieved."

"Is there any indication as to why Mizuki would steal the Forbidden Scroll? According to my Parallels, the last time he did it had been because Orochimaru-ji-san put him up to it, but this time around, Orochimaru-ji-san is one of the good guys!"

"Yes," Arashi laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them. "That's what we're trying to find out. Mizuki will be put to death after questioning, of course. We can't risk him escaping us in the near future."

"Sandaime-ojiji won't be happy about that."

"No, Sandaime-sensei won't be pleased about it, but we must act in Konoha's best interests."

Arashi studied his son, then said softly, "How are your eyes holding up? According to Obito, during the training exercise earlier, you started showing signs of being able to have a Yochigan."

"Huh? I thought it was just Insight?"

Arashi couldn't help but sigh. "All Kazama have some form of Insight, it's just normally stronger in the daughters than in the sons, however, the higher the level of Insight shown, the closer the Kazama in question is to awakening the Yochigan. One of the signs is a change in eye color—"

Naruto interrupted with, "But it could have been the Kyuubi!"

"In which case, your eyes would have turned red," Arashi responded, "And don't interrupt me again." Naruto nodded and Arashi continued, "Another sign of the Yochigan's awakening is the change in eye color to gold, or your eyes bleeding for no apparent reason. Naruto, according to Obito, in that training exercise alone, you showed all three signs. Even with the Kyuubi's healing factor, the Yochigan is very hard on a Kazama Son's body. Why else do you think I don't use my Yochigan all that often?"

"I know all of that, dad," Naruto said quietly. "It's just that having two Yochigan users at the same time… All the family records say that it's a bad sign."

Arashi sighed. "It's not really that bad, I assure you."

Naruto scuffed the toe of his sandals against the wood floor. "Hey dad?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Can we have a better mission next time?"

"Sick of chasing Tora, are we?"

"Well, yeah! That dumb cat won't stop attacking me!"

"Foxes _are_ a type of canine, Naruto. It's understandable that Tora wouldn't like you because of the Kyuubi."

"But then gardening, walking dogs, doing shopping, babysitting… Those are just things that the lazy civilians don't want to do themselves!"

"D ranks are there so you can work on teamwork without the chance of you getting killed, Naruto. Well, unless you fall off a roof and land poorly, in which case, you'd break your neck or an arm or a leg, but that's not really that much of a concern. If you're stupid enough to get seriously hurt or killed during a D rank, you'd never have graduated as a genin in the first place."

"Aww… Come on, Dad, Please?"

"Only if Obito says you're ready. He is your jounin supervisor."

"But Obito-nii-san's never going to let us go then! He's overprotective like nothing else!"

"And for good reason. Your heritage makes you a figurehead."

Naruto pouted.

Arasahi sighed and asked, "Naruto, why are you so eager to get out of the village on a potentially dangerous mission?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. But dad, it's like a restless feeling that there's something that's about to happen, and I'm somehow involved in it!"

"Your Insight again, huh?" Arashi sighed, for what felt like the millionth time since the interview started and pulled out a file of C ranked missions and spread them out on his desk. "Come here and concentrate on that feeling and wave your hand, slowly, over these mission requests. Stop and pick up the one that feels most right to you."

Naruto stepped up to the heavy oak wood desk and did as his father told him. Wordlessly, he brushed the tips of his fingers over the mission requests, and paused as one sheet in particular seemed to stick to his fingers. He opened his eyes as his father took the paper and studied it.

"An escort mission to Wave Country?" Arashi mused, "I see… This must be one of the things that cannot be changed no matter what…"

He looked up and smiled at his son. "Go on, shoo," he said lightly, "Your team will have this mission tomorrow. I'll introduce the client then."

Naruto grinned and jumped into the air, pumping his fist. "Yatta!"

As he watched his son race out of the office, Arashi could only shake his head in amusement.

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke woke to the sound of pounding on the door, and as he slid out of bed, he wondered vaguely why his mother hadn't stopped the intruder. Then he remembered that Uchiha Mikoto had been reinstated as a jounin after the Massacre. Therefore, the intruder was either one of his younger cousins, or his elder cousin and jounin instructor.

"Dammit, Sasuke! Open this door! I know you're in there!"

Sasuke sighed as his cousin's voice rang out. Yep, it was Obito alright.

"Shut up!" Sasuke barked.

The pounding immediately ceased, and there was a few irritated mutters before Obito spoke again.

"Whatever! While you're getting ready, collect your gear for a long term mission. Sensei is giving us a C rank. I'll meet you in the Tower."

* * *

Sakura was woken in the morning by an incessant tapping at her window. She sat up and flung a pillow at the noise, only for the pillow to come flying back and smack her in the face.

"Why, Sakura," Obito said dryly, "why would you ever attack your sensei?"

Sakura stared at her sensei in shock, then she realized what she had done.

"Oh! Obito-sensei! I'm so sorry! I—"

Obito held up a hand for silence, and Sakura immediately fell silent.

"It's alright," Obito smiled, "Compared to the more lethal things I get thrown at me during missions, I think I prefer a pillow, unless it's filled with explosive tags, but if that were the case, I doubt that you would actually be sleeping on it. Either way, I'm just here to tell you that while you're getting ready, collect your gear for a long term mission. We have a C rank."

"A C rank?" Sakura asked, "Does this mean we're not chasing any more cats or weeding lazy civilian's gardens?"

"Until this particular mission is over, yes."

Sakura leapt out of bed. "Yatta! You're the best sensei!"

Obito coughed and looked away. "That's nice. I'll meet you kids in the Tower then."

Sakura stared at the widow in bemusement as her jounin sensei vanished in a puff of smoke, then realized that her nightgown had ridden up to her hips in her excitement induced leap out of bed. She let out a short scream of humiliation and darted into her bathroom.

* * *

Arashi stood on the porch as he watched his son meditate on top of the pond in the meditation courtyard. It was a peaceful scene for the Yondaime, one that he almost never saw since he was rarely at home. In fact, he would never see his son except when the boy slept if the boy, while in his Academy days, wasn't always so adamant on coming to visit his father at the Tower with a handmade bento. Of course, now that Naruto was a ninja, Arashi did get to see Naruto more often, even if they maintained a distance that was proper for a ninja and their Hokage despite being father and son.

"Obito has gone to tell your team about the mission," Arashi said. "Your team will be meeting in the Tower."

Naruto didn't respond, but Arashi knew that his son had heard him.

"I'll see you later, Naruto."

Arashi walked away. Mentally, he began counting down from sixty.

As expected, once he reached the front gate, and coincidentally, one, a yellow and black blur dropped from the sky to land in front of him. The Yondaime chuckled and reached out, grabbing Naruto in a headlock.

"You're way too predictable, kiddo."

Naruto's only response was to poke his father in the ribs. Arashi chuckled again and released his son as father and child began the peaceful trek through the village to the Hokage Tower, their unseen ANBU watchers only a few steps behind them.

* * *

"Well then," Arashi held up a scroll marked with the letter C. "Here is a C ranked mission for you. The client is a bridge builder from Wave Country and has requested an escort on his way home. I will introduce him now."

Arashi made a discreet sign, and a chunnin slipped out the door. Moments later, the same door slid open to reveal a heavyset man with a large bottle of sake. Naruto's nose wrinkled as the heavy scent of alcohol permeated the room.

"What's this? I ask for bodyguards and I get a bunch of kids? Are they even ninja? I doubt any of them could do anything without tripping over their own feet, especially that blonde midget there," the man groused as he took a long drink from his bottle.

Naruto's eye twitched, but gave no other outward sign of his displeasure about the jibe at his height. Arashi smirked at his son, knowing full well that the boy wanted nothing more than to tear the old drunk to bits.

"Maa…" Obito said lightly, "Don't worry, this is the best genin team in the village, and even if they get in over their heads, I'm an Uchiha and a jounin. You'll be well protected."

"Whatever," Tazuna groused as he took another long drink from the bottle. "I'm the super bridge builder, Tazuna, and you will give me super protection!"

((A/N: I can't believe I actually typed that…. –bangs head on wall—Stupid Tazuna and his stupid obsession with the word…))

Obito wondered briefly what his team was getting into before turning to his team. "I hope you all have everything then?"

The genin nodded and Obito nodded. "Very well, we'll leave immediately."

* * *

TBC…

* * *

_Time flows ever onward, unheeding of the swirls and eddies that run across the Tapestry of Fate, and the more things change, the more things stay the same… _

"Do you have people precious to you?"

"True strength is when you protect those close to you, that is what my family taught me."

"Then you will be strong.

"I believe if things had been different we could have been friends…."

_An unasked for change in the tapestry ripples across time… And a lesson must be learned…_

"Why?!"

"Is this the first time that you've lost a comrade?"

"You killed him… So I will kill you!"

_In this world, there are no such things as coincidences…._

"You are corrupt, so I cannot let you live. I will kill you with this technique that was left to me by my friend… Raikiri!"

…_There is only the inevitable…_

"Is that… The Yochigan?"

**Next time, in Parallel Continuity: The Waves of Destiny! Part 2**

--The mist has cleared--

* * *

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** I hated this chapter… I just kept wanting to stop the chapter in certain places, but the stupid preview in the previous chapter wouldn't let me! Well, I did actually stop in the middle despite the preveiw, if only because my sole available muse was willing to help out despite not being a part of this fandom! ---glares at the sulking naruto-muse and kakashi-muse--- Well, on the bright side, this has to be the longest chapter I've ever written yet!

_SanadaSayuri_


	15. ParaCont: The Waves of Destiny Part 2

Parallel

CSA Version 10Parallel ContinuityEternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** When the Kazama Clan fell, one Hatake Kakashi was sent to the past by the will of his dead love. He changed everything by dying in the place of a friend, and it falls to those who are left behind to complete the Oracle's will…

**SS's Notes:** Oh, geez, when was the last time I updated? –peers at date—holy crap! 10/07/07?! Geez! Why isn't anyone bugging me? I don't mind getting bugged for updates every once in a while! Here, I'll make a deal with the lot of you. If I don't update for more than two months, you have my permission to bug me for an update. In fact, I **ENCOURAGE** you to bug me for an update if a new chapter is not up within two months. **SUGGESTIONS** for future chapters or plot twists will be accepted as well, and are **ENCOURAGED**! Please help me out, kay?

In anycase, I apologize for the long wait. My fall semester was one headache after another, and my winter semester was even worse. I recall complaining about spending eleven hours on campus, and joking about how all I would need is an overnight bag with toothbrush, toothpaste, facial cleanser, and deodorant and soap and then I'd be literally living at school. Spring semester was a huge mess, what with yet **another** friendship crisis and babysitting, not to mention me looking for a part time job and going on a BLEACH binge. This semester, I'm on a similar schedule as winter, only instead of eleven hours on campus, its eight, and I'm not even factoring in the time that will go into my studies.

Ok, enough excuses from me. I will do my best to keep updating, but no promises as to when the next chapter comes out. Like I've been saying in all my other author's notes, real life comes first, and if I want to graduate and transfer by summer 2009, then I need to get all my classes out of the way. I'll try to keep my updates as regular as possible, but no promises, 'cuz it's likely I'll end up breaking them.

**Previously, on Parallel Continuity…**

_--"Alright," he said with forced casualness, "Team Seven meet on the roof." He vanished in a puff of chakra smoke._

_--Naruto stood up and left the classroom, and smirked as the sound of two chairs scraping against linoleum as his teammates scrambled out of their seats to follow. As he reached the stairwell, a flash of movement from the corner of his eye urged him to turn, and there stood a figure that he had seen in the memories of his Parallels. A silver haired, dark eyed man with his forehead protector slanted over one eye, clad in the typical peacetime jounin uniform leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his single visible eye fixed on him._

_--"Alright," Obito grinned at the three children in front of him as he set an alarm clock on top of one of the training poles. "This is the beginning of your test. I have set this alarm to noon. You must take these bells from me during that time. If you fail to take a bell before the alarm goes off, you will be sent back to the academy. Come at me with every thing you have, and you may use any trick. Come at me with the intention to kill or you won't be able to get a bell. Start when I say so."_

_--"An escort mission to Wave Country?" Arashi mused, "I see… This must be one of the things that cannot be changed no matter what…"_

_--"Well then," Arashi held up a scroll marked with the letter C. "Here is a C ranked mission for you. The client is a bridge builder from Wave Country and has requested an escort on his way home. I will introduce him now."_

_--"What's this? I ask for bodyguards and I get a bunch of kids? Are they even ninja? I doubt any of them could do anything without tripping over their own feet, especially that blonde midget there."_

**Chapter 14: The Waves of Destiny (Part 2)**

The day was clear and it was with light hearts that the genin of Team 7 left Konoha with Tazuna with Obito following as rear guard, his eyes watchful for whatever dangers might beset the group. A flash of light drew Obito's attention, and his eyes slid lazily over the puddle at the side of the road before turning a calculating gaze on the back of Tazuna's head.

* * *

Naruto leaned against a tree as Obito questioned the two missing-nin who had attacked the group. In the meantime, Sakura fawned over Sasuke, cooing about how cool he was, and Tazuna stood nearby, his rheumy eyes darting from the three genin to the jounin to the missing-nin, and back while periodically taking a drink from his bottle of sake. Obito sighed as he straightened and turned toward his genin team.

"Listen closely, children," Obito said, "This mission is now a B rank at the very least, and chances are it may go up to an A class if we go any farther. Now is the time to make your choice. Do we go back to Konoha, or do we go forward?"

The decision to go on was almost unanimous. As they moved on, Naruto sighed as his Parallels appeared beside him.

"_Zabuza is coming…" _the ANBU Parallel said.

"_It won't be long now…"_ the younger Parallel said.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he faced forward and kept walking.

"Naruto," Obito murmured.

Naruto's shoulder twitched. "Yes?"

"Is something wrong? You're unusually tense."

"We're going to be attacked," Naruto's voice was low, "But I'm sure sensei already knew that."

Obito sighed. "Is that your insight talking?"

"No," Naruto said, "It's the truth."

Obito sighed. Of all the times for his teacher's child to start talking in riddles, the child just had to pick this of all times… Obito rolled his eyes and tilted his head upward slightly as he prayed for patience.

"Alright then," Obito said lightly, "Let me know if we're getting closer to trouble."

"Walk forward for the next ten minutes," Naruto said dryly.

Obito had to resist the urge to slap his face and groan. Of course there was an enemy right in front of them, and embarrassingly, it was his student who sensed him first. Of course, that Naruto had the gift of Insight and was destined to be that Last Oracle was also a factor, but Obito would never admit that.

* * *

Naruto's eyes were calm as he looked placidly at the bare-chested nuke-nin standing on the zanbato embedded deep within the trunk of a tree.

"Momochi Zabuza," Obito muttered, "Demon of the Mist."

"_The lack of change in each repetition and change in time is almost irritating,"_ the younger of the two Parallels remarked as they watched Obito get caught in Zabuza's Water Prison Technique.

"_Agreed,"_ the elder parallel said lightly.

Naruto rolled his eyes, wondering absently how his Parallels could interact the way they did, before remembering that the laws governing the existences of Jinchuuriki were different from the laws governing the existences of humans.

"This certainly is a conundrum," he murmured quietly, attracting odd looks from Sasuke and Sakura. "Hmm… What to do…."

* * *

"You three!" Obito called, "Run! This battle was over the moment I was caught! Abort the mission!"

"Hmm…" Naruto murmured, his eyes half lidded, "I think we will… Not." He lifted his head, and Obito caught a glimpse of gold in the boy's cerulean eyes. "Even if we ran, all the enemy would do is slit your throat and come after us. If that isn't the case, then likely, he'll send his accomplice hidden in the trees there," Naruto jerked a thumb at a particular stand of trees not too far from where the group stood on the shore, "and whoever it is will come after us and kill us as well as the client. Sensei, I don't think we have any choice in the matter. We'll have to fight."

"No!" Obito yelled, "Run!"

Naruto grinned at Obito and said, "Don't worry about us sensei."

And a single drop of red fell down whiskered cheeks.

* * *

Obito opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling of an unfamiliar room. The chakra of his three students was not too far away, two in the next room over, another in the same room with him. A mop of golden hair came into his sight.

"Hey, sensei," Naruto grinned, "You're up!"

* * *

Naruto sat down at the edge of the clearing and tilted his head up to gaze through the trees at the stars. "Are you sure this is necessary?" he asked quietly.

"_The event that takes place here will change many lives, Naruto," _the younger Parallel said.

"But why is it necessary?"

"_Only you can decide that."_

* * *

Morning came in a swirl of fog as a weak sun struggled to pierce the gloom. A slender figure clad in a pink kimono with raven hair stepped into the clearing, a small wicker basket braced against a hip. Dark eyes fell on the drowsing figure at the edge of the clearing clad in orange and black, and the figure made its way toward the child. A slender hand reached forward and paused, just barely touching the exposed curve of the child's neck before shifting to grasp a thin shoulder and a quick shake.

"You'll get sick if you sleep out here," a soft voice said.

Milky lids rose to reveal cerulean pools and the child sat up.

"I don't get sick easily," he said. A pause. "Who are you?"

"I am called Haku. You have a headband. Are you a ninja?"

"I am. I'm Naruto."

Haku nodded and stepped aside and began sorting through the plants in the clearing. Naruto stood off to the side and watched for a while before speaking again.

"Those are herbs normally used for healing. Is someone you know hurt?"

"Yes," Haku said, "He is my most precious person." A pause. "Do you have people precious to you?"

"My father and surrogate aunts and uncles." Naruto smiled. "I know what you are trying to ask. True strength is when you protect those close to you, that is what my family taught me."

"Then you will be strong," Haku said as he stood and picked up the basket. "Perhaps one day, we will meet again."

Naruto nodded. "I will look forward to that day."

Haku nodded and began to walk away, then paused. "Oh, by the way, I am a boy."

"Eeeehhhhhhhh?!"

Haku's lips curved slightly in amusement as he walked away. _"We are very much alike, Naruto-kun. I think, if things had been different, we could have been friends…"_ the ice user thought as he walked away.

* * *

Obito suppressed the urge to sigh as his teacher's son rolled over in the futon grumbling, and fell back into sleep.

"All right, fine," Obito groused. "Stay and sleep. Geez, what were you doing most of the night anyway?"

There was no answer from the slumbering figure.

* * *

Naruto woke to the sound of a female scream. A child's voice called for mother, and the blonde snapped immediately into awareness. A quick movement had his jacket flung hastily over his shoulders, and his equipment pouch on his belt as he darted downstairs, a kunai in hand. He wasted no time spouting useless words or heroic bombasts, and a quick handseal created a clone, and another quick handseal brought on a puff of smoke, and Tsunami found herself beside Naruto while the clone swiftly and efficiently dispatched the two thugs. He wasted no time, darting back up the stairs for his kunai pouch, and he was running out the door with a sharp order to Tsumani to stay inside.

"_Things are going to get messy,"_ the blonde thought as he headed for the bridge.

* * *

Naruto was many things, and stupid wasn't one of them. But of course, in the heat of the moment, everything his father and surrogate aunts and uncles tried to teach him about staying calm and thinking before acting seemed to go out the metaphorical window. This was how he found himself inside to the dome of ice mirrors with Sasuke, both getting peppered with senbon. Naruto was only slightly better off than Sasuke, the wind techniques his father had taught him had been invaluable from getting skewered in the wrong places. Of course, it wasn't helping much as a senbon had just cut off the use of his left leg, making it impossible to dodge. He was having trouble breathing, and the world just wouldn't stay still. Everything was covered in a haze of pain, and he was regretting leaping in so hastily. Wrapped up in his world of pain and blind to the needles coming his way, Naruto was justifiably surprised when a swath of dark fabric entered his line of sight.

"Sasuke?"

The raven haired boy sank slowly to the ground. Naruto shifted and caught the boy.

"Sasuke?! Why?!"

The Uchiha shrugged, "I don't know. My body just moved on its own. Hey Naruto? Please, kill my brother for me…"

"SASUKE!!"

The false Hunter ninja watched quietly, allowing the blonde some time to grieve before he spoke, "Is this the first time you have lost a comrade?"

"Shut up," Naruto snarled, "How could you do this?! It's not like people like Gato are ever going to pay you!"

"I am a tool," the false Hunter said quietly, "I exist to serve Zabuza-san. For Zabuza-san's sake, I am willing to kill my heart and become a true ninja."

"Shut up! You killed Sasuke! You killed him… So now, I'll kill you!" Naruto's anger burnt red hot, and he felt a rush of heat through his body, and his vision turned red…

* * *

Obito and Zabuza's head jerked and the two stared in the direction of the dome of ice mirrors.

_Is the seal breaking?_ Obito wondered. _No, it's cracked slightly, that's all. I'll have to end this quickly…_

* * *

Back in Konoha, Kazama Arashi's lifted his eyes from his paperwork, the golden Yochigan swirling in pale blue irises. "Oh dear," he murmured, "It seems that the seal is cracking. Be careful, Naruto…"

* * *

Obito slammed the summoning scroll onto the ground and watched as the seal script flowed out from both ends. The ground rumbled, and Zabuza flinched as a pack of nin-dogs burst from the ground and latched onto him.

"Well then," Obito said as he straightened. "How do you like my cute nin-dogs? They were given to me by an old friend just before he died." Zabuza merely glared at the Sharingan user. Obito shrugged and began forming handseals and gripped a wrist as lightening coalesced in his hand. "You are much too dangerous to be allowed to live. Your ambitions have made you corrupt, so I cannot let you live. I will kill you with this technique that was left to me by my friend… Raikiri!"

* * *

A limp body hit the bridge as Naruto dropped his bloody hands to his sides, tears running down his face. "It's such a shame," he whispered, "Why did this happen? Such a waste."

"_Such is the life of a shinobi, Naruto-kun,"_ said the ANBU Parallel as he materialized beside the boy. _"But a good thing did come of this."_

"What?" Naruto snarled, "What good can come of any of this?" He received no answer.

* * *

Zabuza's corpse slid off his arm and hit the ground with a dull thud, and the mist slowly dissipated. Obito frowned as clapping and harsh laughter echoed through the air only moments later. He glanced down toward the end of the unfinished bridge and his frown deepened as he noticed the pudgy business man standing there, surrounded by thugs.

_That must be Gato,_ Obito thought.

"Well done, ninja," the man laughed, "You've saved me a lot of work! It's too bad for him that I never intended to pay that fool! So much for a demon!"

"To be expected from a money grubbing fool," a quiet voice murmured.

Three heads snapped in the direction of the voice. Several sets of eyes widened at the sight of a bloody apparition, golden locks shimmering softly in the dim light as a golden star rotated slowly in pale blue irises and thin streams of blood fell from the eyes and down whiskered cheeks.

"Wh-who are you?!" Gato barked.

"Naruto?" Obito murmured, "Is that…. The Yochigan?"

* * *

Naruto stood still as he stared down at the gravesite. A large hand fell onto his shoulders and squeezed lightly. "Come along, Naruto," Obito said softly. "We have to go back now."

Naruto nodded, then said quietly, "Is this what it means to be a ninja? To kill simply because you were ordered to, to exist without feeling, and then to be discarded when we are of no more use?"

Obito paused and said, "That is a belief held in all ninja villages. For many, they become ice and stone and feel nothing, others are consumed by the blood and drown in it, becoming monsters that must be put down, and others, such as Zabuza, live their lives in agony of it, because they have emotions and could not wholly kill their humanity."

"I… I don't like that," Naruto's head came up, and his eyes flashed gold briefly. "I will make my own nindo then! I will not be a ninja that is a tool to be commanded then discarded when I am of no more use! Rather, I will be a ninja who will fight for my precious people!"

Obito smiled weakly. "Then you are already walking the path of strength and greatness. Come, Naruto, let's go back to the others."

Naruto nodded, and he turned, seeing his two teammates standing a few yards away, expectant looks on their faces.

Sakura waved and called, "Sensei! Naruto! Let's go!"

A nostalgic smile crossed Obito's face as Naruto responded and ran up to join his two teammates. Maybe things would be alright after all…

* * *

Back in Konoha, Arashi chuckled quietly as he deactivated his Yochigan. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his face and looked at a picture of his sister.

"Things might be alright after all, Chizuru," he said quietly, "And the Last Yochigan has finally awakened… He has a great destiny ahead of him, that son of mine…"

* * *

TBC…

* * *

**Next time, in Parallel Continuity: **

_Humans always strive to better themselves…And it is the way of the teacher to challenge their students…_

"I, Uchiha Obito, nominate Team Seven consisting of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Kazama Uzumaki Naruto for the Chunin Exams."

"They're not ready!"

"They are no longer your students. Rather, they are now my soldiers!"

_Truth and lies are in the very nature of human kind… Everywhere one may turn, one can never tell if the person beside you is an enemy or a friend…_

"So we're all together again… How troublesome…"

"Hey! You lot better calm down and shut up! Geez, you really are wet behind the ears rookies. This isn't a field trip you know."

"As for your tenth question… If you fail this question, you will be a genin forever!"

_The lesson that all Oracles must learn… _

"You're not going any farther, forehead. It's best if you surrender now."

"Ah ha! Aren't we lucky? This will be an easy victory!"

"You are weak. You will always be weak. You were fated to loose the moment you were matched against me."

_There are some things that can never be changed…_

**The Rookie Nine Gather: The Chunnin Exams Begin!**

_--The mist has cleared--_

**Totally Random Babbling… Or Not:** I hated this chapter… No, seriously. I do. The simple fact that my muses refused to help me out with this made it even worse. My god, the amount of time it took to wheedle even a single sentence of this story at a time out of my muses was a terror. I was lucky if I could get a fragmented idea out of them once every two weeks, and then to put it together just sucked, I tell you. Add all that to the drama in my life lately and you get one hell of a writer's block. Thank god for the previews that I tend to stick at the end of the chapters. Believe it or not, if it weren't for them, I'd really have nothing to work with.

In anycase, Shippuden! Like, WTF is Bakamoto thinking?! The entire story is just going to hell. Naruto was bad too begin with, but things are really going down the crapper. The way things are going, he may as well change the name from Naruto to Sasuke. Geez, just thinking about pisses me off.

On to marginally happier thoughts. BLEACH is pretty good, it's on break right now, and we've stopped in the middle of the Hueco Mundo arc, and I am hopping up and down in my seat anticipating the next chapter and the continuation of the Hueco Mundo arc. I have yet to watch the next set of fillers for BLEACH, but as of now, there doesn't seem to be the time for it. I'll probably end up catching up on it over the weekend when I'm not studying or trying to finish my homework.

In either case, up next are the chunin exams. I might be stuck, but I do know that the Chunin Exams are going to be a big mess, and I am so not looking forward to it.

_SanadaSayuri_


	16. A Message to Readers

CSA Version 10 Parallel Continuity Eternity is Not What it Seems

Parallel: Continuity

**Summary:** An IMPORTANT message to Readers

**SS's Notes:** To all my readers, I extend my salutations and thanks for following this story from its beginnings almost five years ago to its most recent chapter posted during the Christmas Season last year. I am deeply touched my the responses to this story, both good and bad, because let's face it, criticism, negative and positive both builds a story, and I appreciate all of your support and patience through many of the admittedly long dry spells between chapters.

I won't make any excuses about real life intruding or even emergencies that took my attention away from this story, because let's face it, those are only excuses. It is my sincere regret to say that I have lost interest in the Naruto fandom, and all Naruto stories, including this one, are now on permanent hiatus. There will be no more updates, except perhaps to the '_Angel of Death' _series, and even those may be few and far in between.

If anyone wishes to take over any of the Naruto stories, then by all means, please feel free. All I ask is that credit is given where credit is due. Otherwise, I extend my apologies for letting you all down and abandoning this story. It has been a great five years, and it has been my pleasure to write such stories that readers will find entertaining.

With Sincere Goodwill and Regret,

_SanadaSayuri_


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